The 

Religious  Awakening 

of 

Korea 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  REVIVAL  IN 
THE  KOREAN  CHURCHES  IN  1907 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/religiousawakeniOOunse 


A KOREAN  METHODIST  PASTOR  AND  HIS  WIFE 


The  Religious  Awakening 
of  Korea 


An  account  of  the  revival  in  the  Korean 
churches  in  1907 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 
150  FIFTH  AVENUE 
NEW  YORK 

PRICE,  TEN  CENTS 


PRINTED  FEBRUARY,  1908 


Introduction 

“He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire.”  Korea  has 
received  her  baptism  of  fire.  The  year  1907  will  ever  he  memorable  for  the 
revival  which  involved  the  wTiole  country.  This  constitutes  the  divine 
inauguration  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  land  of  Chosen. 

The  signs  following  have  confirmed  the  genuineness  and  thoroughgoing 
nature  of  this  miracle  of  grace.  The  trials  which  have  come  upon  the  native 
church  attest  the  above  statement,  for  during  these  days  of  persecution  the 
native  church  has  been  steadfast  in  loyalty  to  Christ. 

The  story  of  this  divine  visitation  is  told  by  two  witnesses  under  the 
figure  of  The  Storm — a thrilling  story  of  the  chief  incidents  of  this  event. 
May  the  churches  read  it  and  be  moved  to  assist  in  gospelizing  Korea  in  this 
generation! 


M.  C.  Harris. 


CONTRIBUTIONS  OF  THE  KOREAN  CHURCH  FOR  A DECADE 


CN 

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tn 

O 

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ON  ON 

Foreword 


Scarcely  more  than  a decade  ago  Korea  was  known  to  Western  lands  only 
as  the  “Hermit  Kingdom,”  but  by  reason  of  events  over  which  she  had  no 
control,  she  has  come  into  prominence  unknown  to  her  previous  history. 
By  reason  of  unkind,  not  to  say  cruel,  treatment  at  the  hands  of  her  neighbors 
the  people  have  become  deceptive,  suspicious,  and  untrustworthy,  but  they 
are  rarely,  if  ever,  cruel.  They  are  affable  and  generous,  and  wrhen  their 
confidence  has  been  gained  they  are  trustworthy.  Mentally  they  are  not  very 
alert  but  they  are  willing  to  be  instructed,  and  where  the  young  people  have 
access  to  schools  they  prove  to  he  apt  students.  It  is  not  strange  that  they 
are  a “backward  people,”  when  we  remember  their  age-long  environment  of 
corrupt  government  and  false  systems  of  religion  which  have  no  uplifting 
power.  When  his  environment  is  changed  by  the  Christian  religion,  as  it 
is  sure  to  be,  the  Korean  will  develop  into  a man  mentally  and  spiritually. 

The  Koreans  seem  now  to  be  especially  prepared  for  the  acceptance  of  the 
gospel,  and  there  is  ground  for  asking  Isaiah’s  question:  “Shall  a nation  be 
born  at  once?”  It  was  the  writer’s  privilege  to  visit  Korea  in  1893,  when 
our  mission  was  eight  years  old.  Then  we  had,  in  Seoul,  the  capital,  a 
small  chapel,  the  only  one  in  the  kingdom.  Now  we  have  two  large  plain 
brick  edifices  in  the  capital  and  numerous  churches  and  chapels  scattered 
throughout  the  country.  Then  there  were  less  than  one  hundred  members 
and  probationers.  Now  there  are  more  than  40,000  members,  probationers 
and  enrolled  seekers.  A great  religious  awakening  has  been  prevailing 
throughout  the  country  during  the  past  few  years  and  appears  to  be  con- 
stantly widening  in  its  sweep  and  power.  Of  this  great  movement  this 
volume  gives  most  interesting  and  thrilling  account.  The  authors  desire 
that  their  names  be  not  published.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  they  have  been 
toilers  in  Korea  for  many  years  and  know  whereof  they  speak.  The  writer 
visited  this  country  in  June,  1907,  traveling  extensively  through  the  country, 
visiting  several  centers,  and  from  personal  observation  bears  witness  to  the 
marvelous  work  now  going  forward,  as  described  in  this  volume. 

The  reader  will  be  convinced  that  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  has 
acted  wisely  in  appealing  to  the  church  for  a special  offering  of  $100,000  with 
which  to  “HELP  KOREA  NOW.” 

New  York,  January,  1908. 


A.  B.  Leonard. 


INCREASE  IN  NUMBER  OF  SCHOOL  BUILDINGS  ERECTED  BY  THE 
KOREAN  CHRISTIANS 


The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 


The  Breaking  of  the  Storm 

The  present  is  a time  of  widespread  manifestation  of  the  presence  of 
God  in  mighty  power  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men.  So  mysterious  is  this 
manifestation  that  it  is  clearly  independent  of  human  direction,  appearing  in 
widely  separated  regions  of  the  world,  and  in  diversified  manner,  yet  always 
distinguished  by  two  characteristics  which  serve  to  identify  it.  These  two 
characteristics  are  prayer  and  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  illustration 
of  this  we  have  the  great  revival  in  Wales,  the  outbreak  in  Australia  and  the 
overwhelming  storm  in  Korea.  All  these  were  intimately  related  to  the 
power  of  prayer  in  their  inception,  and  marked  by  unusual  manifestation 
of  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  during  their  course. 

A study  of  the  experience  through  which  the  Korean  church  has  passed 
shows  that  it  was  not  a sudden  outbreak,  unrelated  to  any  adequate 
cause,  but  that  a train  of  clearly  indicated  events  led  up  to  it.  To  find  a 
starting  point  in  this  train  of  events  we  must  go  back  at  least  to  the  work 
done  by  one  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
at  Wonsan.  Especially  prepared  by  a deep  and  marvelous  experience  through 
which  he  had  personally  passed,  on  the  invitation  of  the  missionaries  he 
visited  several  of  the  mission  stations  and  conducted  special  services.  Two 
results  followed:  one,  a conviction  in  the  minds  of  the  missionaries  of  their 
own  deep  need  of  seeking  God  in  prayer,  and  the  other  a new  conviction  in 
the  hearts  of  the  Korean  Christians  of  the  aw’ful  character  of  sin. 

Thus  previously  to  the  outbreak  of  this  spiritual  storm  the  missionaries 
in  Korea  had  been  called  upon  to  pass  through  experiences  which  set  many 
of  them  to  thinking  deeply  and  seriously  of  their  own  spiritual  condition, 
of  their  relation  to  the  native  church,  and  of  the  numerous  and  extremely 
difficult  problems  which  confronted  them  in  their  work.  The  missionary  body 
itself  was  in  a state  of  intense  longing  and  expectancy  in  the  presence  of  God. 
Thus  one  of  the  most  important  characteristics  of  the  divine  visitation  which 
we  are  about  to  describe  was  the  fact  that  it  began  among  the  missionaries 
and  that  its  effects  upon  many  of  them  were  no  less  far-reaching  and  remark- 
able than  its  effects  upon  the  native  church.  There  was  a revolution  wrought 
in  habits  of  thought,  a breaking  down  of  lifelong  prejudices,  a sweeping  away 
of  old  barriers,  and  a coming  into  union  of  heart  and  purpose  to  find  in  Christ, 
each  for  himself,  the  fullest  possible  experience  of  complete  salvation  as 
God  had  revealed  it  in  Christ. 

During  the  month  of  August,  1906,  the  missionaries  residing  in  Pyeng- 
yang  were  moved  to  seek  a deeper  experience  of  God’s  power  in  their  own 
lives,  and  for  this  purpose  meetings  for  Bible  study  and  prayer  were  held  for 
eight  days.  Utterly  unconscious  of  what  would  be  the  actual  result  of  their 
prayers  these  meetings  were  carried  on  with  a sincere  purpose  to  receive  at 


8 The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

God’s  hands  just  the  experience  that  he  had  for  them  in  just  the  way  in  which 
he  might  he  pleased  to  give  it.  It  is  useless  to  speculate  upon  what  would 
have  been  the  result  had  God  lifted  the  veil  of  the  future  and  revealed  what 
the  end  of  the  answer  to  their  prayers  would  he.  It  is  certain  that  the 
hearts  of  some  would  have  failed  them  and  they  would  not  have  had  the 
courage  to  press  on. 

The  first  concern  of  the  missionaries  was  for  the  Korean  church,  and  the 
Methodist  and  Presbyterian  stations  united  in  an  effort  to  bring  it  under 
the  cleansing  and  vitalizing  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  thus  to  make  the 
Korean  Christians  sharers  with  them  in  a like  precious  experience.  In 
response  to  the  suggestion  of  the  missionaries  hundreds  of  the  Korean  Chris- 
tians covenanted  to  spend  one  hour  each  day  in  prayer  for  the  outpouring  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  This  concert  of  prayer  continued  until  1907,  when  in  the 
first  week  of  January  at  a meeting  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Pyengyang 
City  the  Holy  Spirit  literally  poured  forth  on  the  people  and  the  fire  of  His 
presence  spread  rapidly  throughout  the  whole  city  and  the  surrounding 
country  until  it  enveloped  alike  both  Presbyterian  and  Methodist  Churches 
and  schools. 

The  storm  was  on.  Its  course  may  be  gathered  in  an  incomplete  way 
from  what  is  to  he  told  here,  hut  it  would  be  no  more  possible  to  write  a 
description  of  this  revival  and  give  an  adequate  idea  of  what  took  place  than 
it  would  be  possible  to  write  a description  of  some  terrific  conflict  of  the 
forces  of  nature  as  witnessed  by  someone  standing  at  the  storm  center. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  it  lasted  from  January  to  June,  and  after  creating  anew 
the  church  in  Pyengyang  City,  it  spread  to  the  country  and  far  to  the  south 
until  its  influence  was  felt  in  every  mission  station  throughout  the  empire. 
The  reader  will  note  that  mere  figures  hardly  appear  in  connection  with  this 
manifestation  of  God’s  power  in  Korea.  It  would  no  more  be  possible  to  con- 
vey an  idea  of  what  it  achieved  by  mentioning  numbers  of  converts  added 
to  the  church,  though  there  were  thousands  of  these,  or  numbers  of  Christians 
who  were  led  out  into  the  freedom  of  a new  life  in  God,  than  it  would  be 
possible  to  express  the  majesty  of  God  in  the  three  dimensions  known  to 
mechanical  science. 

One  of  the  first  features  to  be  noted  in  connection  with  this  divine  visita- 
tion was  the  spirit  of  deep-seated  and  intense  antagonism  which  at  first 
opposed  it.  At  Pyengyang  City  many  of  the  church  leaders  were  violently 
against  it.  At  another  place  one  of  the  missionaries  announced  that  if  any 
of  his  people  confessed  such  sins  as  had  been  revealed  during  the  work  at 
Pyengyang,  he  would  promptly  expel  them  from  the  church.  He  found, 
however,  how  vain  were  such  statements  when  eventually  the  church  was 
shaken  to  its  very  foundations,  and  to  have  carried  out  his  dictum  would 
have  left  him  without  any  church  members,  while  by  not  carrying  out  his 
purpose  he  had  a cleansed  and  newborn  church,  possessed  of  a power  never 
before  known.  At  a third  place  some  of  the  official  members  of  the  church 
were  ready  to  mob  the  messengers  who  came  to  urge  upon  them  the  necessity 
of  seeking  complete  cleansing  at  God’s  hand,  but  before  the  meetings 
terminated  they  were  only  too  glad  to  fall  prostrate  at  the  foot  of  Christ’s 
cross  and  acknowledge  that  their  antagonism  had  been  against  him.  Probably 
the  most  striking  instance  of  this  antagonism  was  found  in  the  case  of  the 
Korean  pastor  and  official  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Pyengyang,  a church  with  a membership  of  1,700.  The  pastor  and  official 


9 


The  Breaking  of  the  Storm 

members  had  seen  the  effect  of  the  revival  on  the  students  in  the  mission 
school  in  Pyengyang  and  the  agony  because  of  sin,  and,  as  the  physical 
demonstrations  which  accompanied  it  were  so  violent  that  they  attributed 
them  to  demoniacal  possession  rather  than  the  work  of  God’s  Spirit,  they 
decided  to  spend  their  whole  strength  in  antagonizing  the  movement.  On  a 
certain  Friday  night,  however,  their  pastor  attended  a students’  meeting  held 
in  the  high  school  and  there  occurred  a scene  which  will  never  be  forgotten. 
When  he  entered  the  chapel  of  the  school  he  saw  a score  of  young  men  sobbing 
over  sin-filled  lives,  and  prostrate  on  their  faces  on  the  floor,  while  as  many 
more  were  on  their  feet  awaiting  an  opportunity  to  confess  before  the  people 
the  sins  and  crimes  of  which  they  had  been  guilty.  As  this  Korean  pastor 
sat  watching  the  scene  with  his  face  pale  and  drawn,  a young  man  suddenly 
crossed  the  room  and  knelt  by  his  side  and  sobbed  out  a confession;  another 
followed  him  and  then  another  until  he  was  besieged  with  sobbing  penitents. 
Nearly  all  of  them  added  to  their  confessions  the  statement  that  he  had 
misled  them  into  the  belief  that  evil  spirits  were  the  cause  of  this  mysterious 
and  wonderful  manifestation.  They  assured  him  that  they  now  knew  this 
was  the  power  of  God’s  Holy  Spirit  and  then  pleaded  with  him  to  join  them 
in  seeking  a spirit-filled  life.  Soon  he  too  was  overwhelmed  with  sorrow 
and  conviction;  in  silence  he  left  the  chapel,  returned  to  his  home,  and 
remained  a whole  day  in  an  agony  of  remorse.  Thus  convicted  of  his  sin, 
and  completely  changed  in  his  whole  heart  attitude  toward  the  movement,  he 
went  about  throughout  the  city  the  following  day  searching  for  those  whom 
he  had  influenced  to  oppose  the  meetings,  and  humbly  confessing  his  wrong- 
doing he  asked  their  forgiveness.  From  that  time  this  pastor  became  the 
most  conspicuous  leader  among  the  churches  of  his  denomination  in  the  work 
of  the  revival. 

A second  feature  of  the  revival  was  the  great  mental  distress  and  physical 
agony  through  which  most  of  the  penitents  passed.  This  can  be  illustrated 
by  the  scene  which  took  place  the  first  Sunday  morning  of  the  storm  in  the 
Central  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Pyengyang.  The  church  is  the  largest 
in  our  connection  in  Korea  and  was  filled  to  the  doors,  probably  two  thousand 
people  being  present.  One  of  the  missionaries  was  in  charge.  After  a 
short  sermon  the  meeting  was  thrown  open  to  the  people  and  immediately 
a young  man  prominent  in  church  work  arose  to  his  feet  and  in  tears  and 
groans  confessed  to  a sinful  life.  When  he  had  finished  speaking  he  flung 
himself  on  the  floor  in  great  agony  and  cried  out  for  mercy.  Then  followed 
a scene  that  is  beyond  description.  Men  all  over  the  church  were  stricken 
to  the  floor,  as  though  hurled  there  by  thunderbolts.  They  literally  writhed 
in  their  agony  while  the  house  was  filled  with  cries  for  mercy.  So  great 
was  the  distress  in  every  direction  that  no  one  could  turn  to  this  or  that 
particular  one  to  give  aid;  indeed,  the  only  aid  that  stricken  ones  desired 
was  the  privilege  of  rising  to  their  feet  and  confessing  their  sins.  They 
seemed  almost  impatient  of  human  attempt  at  succor,  or  effort  to  give 
direction  to  their  thoughts. 

Scenes  of  this  kind  were  repeated  daily.  They  would  come  upon  the 
meetings  without  notice,  and  men  of  different  temperaments  were  all  affected 
alike.  One  particular  illustration  suggests  itself.  At  a later  meeting  than 
that  described  above,  when  the  opportunity  was  given  the  congregation  to 
take  part  a man  who  had  been  a church  member  for  ten  years,  arose  to  his 
feet  to  confess  his  sins  of  disloyalty  to  Christ.  He  was  a man  who  had  been 


10 


The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

■working  for  a number  of  years  for  members  of  the  missionary  community 
as  an  overseer  of  gangs  of  coolies  employed  in  the  erection  of  mission  build- 
ings, a position  which  demands  force  of  character  and  energy.  Previous 
to  this  particular  meeting  this  man  had  spoken  of  the  revival  in  a frivolous 
manner,  being  highly  amused  by  the  idea  of  himself  in  the  role  of  a penitent 
going  to  church  to  make  confession  with  the  rest.  When  he  arose  to  speak 
on  this  occasion  he  made  a rather  striking  appearance.  He  stood  well  back 
on  his  heels,  rugged,  calm,  and  with  his  face  turned  slightly  upward,  while 
he  spoke  in  measured  tones.  He  appeared  to  be  so  self-possessed  and  undis- 
turbed that  the  leader  of  the  meeting  felt  that  his  attempt  at  a confession 
was  either  perfunctory  or  mocking.  This  fear  was  not  a groundless  one,  for 
certain  incidents  had  happened  a few  days  previously  which  had  caused  the 
leaders  to  keep  watch  against  any  tendency  to  simulate  the  distress  of  real 
penitence.  As  this  man  began  to  speak  the  first  sin  he  confessed  was  that 
of  embezzling  funds  that  had  been  intrusted  to  his  care.  The  words  had 
hardly  passed  his  lips  before  he  was  stricken  to  the  floor  and  writhed  there 
as  though  in  torture.  Soon  he  was  again  on  his  feet  and  for  a moment 
continued  his  confession  when  he  fell  over  backward,  as  though  struck  in  the 
face  by  a violent  blow.  He  lay  there  for  some  time  unconscious.  The  mission 
physician,  who  was  present  at  the  same  service,  immediately  went  to  him  and 
spent  a few  moments  in  laboring  for  his  restoration.  On  returning  to  the 
platform  he  reported  that  the  man  showed  unmistakable  signs  of  prostration. 
His  pulse  was  faint  and  he  had  become  unconscious.  A number  gathered 
around  the  stricken  man,  but  on  request  of  the  pastor  they  retired  and  left 
the  penitent  in  the  hands  of  his  God.  Indeed,  there  was  so  much  distress  in 
every  part  of  the  church  that  there  was  little  reason  for  caring  for  this  man 
more  than  for  the  others  who  were  also  in  distress  and  who  were  so  numerous 
that  the  task  of  succoring  each  one  individually  was  an  impossibility.  After 
a while  the  unconscious  man  recovered  and  again  attempted  to  rise.  Several 
noticing  his  desperate  struggles  went  to  his  assistance,  but  without  avail, 
for  his  agony  was  so  great  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  continue  his 
confession  that  day. 

At  this  meeting  there  occurred  an  incident  which  illustrates  the  terrible 
character  of  some  of  the  confessions  made  and  which  we  relate  with  great 
hesitancy,  as  it  might  lead  the  reader  to  think  that  the  Korean  church  had 
been  composed  of  unconverted  people.  While  it  is  true  that  many  of  the  early 
converts  know  little  of  what  is  required  of  a Christian,  yet  the  purity  of  the 
life  of  the  Korean  church  as  a whole  will  compare  favorably  with  that  of 
the  Christians  in  any  land.  No  Korean  is  permitted  to  hold  relation  as  a 
church  member  who  has  not  given  up  all  heathen  practices;  and  among 
other  things  particular  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 
Missionaries  of  all  denominations  are  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that  the 
church  in  Korea  had  been,  preceding  the  revival,  equal  to  that  in  any  other 
mission  field  in  the  world  in  the  spiritual  power  and  piety  of  its  individual 
members.  It  should  be  remembered  that  this  revival  began  in  the  hearts  of 
the  missionaries,  among  some  who  seemed  to  lead  the  most  blameless  lives, 
and  in  the  native  church  the  work  also  began  among  the  most  spiritual 
preachers  and  helpers.  This  will  indicate  how  thorough  and  complete  was  the 
work  of  the  Spirit,  who  hesitated  not  to  uncover  the  deepest  depths  of  human 
hearts.  The  incident  about  to  be  related  was  one  of  many,  and  will  give  a 
hint  not  of  the  low  grade  of  Christian  living  in  the  church  but  of  the  dark 


The  Breaking  of  the  Storm  / / 

lives  of  a people  without  God,  the  terrors  of  which  life  they  have  not  been 
able  to  forget  even  after  a spiritual  reformation. 

The  meeting  one  evening  had  continued  with  unabated  power  till  nearly 
midnight,  and  the  leader  was  anxious  to  close  and  allow  the  people  to  return 
home,  for  they  were  so  thoroughly  exhausted  that  they  needed  rest.  When 
the  time  of  closing  arrived  a large  number  of  young  men  were  still  on  their 
feet  and  had  been  waiting  some  time  for  an  opportunity  to  confess  their  sins. 
Among  them  was  a young  man  not  over  twenty  years  of  age.  He  was 
laboring  under  such  terrible  agony  of  mind  that  permission  was  given  him 
to  speak.  This  is  the  story  he  told:  “Not  long  ago  my  mother  died  leaving 
to  my  care  my  baby  brother.  I did  my  best  for  him.  I fed  him  with  patent 
foods  that  I was  able  to  secure  from  the  Japanese  drug  store.  I cooked  up 
rice  into  a gruel  thinking  that  he  might  like  that,  and  sometimes  I went  to 
the  saloon  and  bought  wine  for  him,  but  all  the  time  the  child  fretted  for  his 
mother  and  cried  for  hunger.  It  was  impossible  to  stop  his  crying.  O,  dear, 
O,  dear,  I could  not  stop  his  crying.  Then — then,  I wished  he  would  die! 
I wished  he  would  die!  O,  dear,  O,  dear,  I wished  he  would  die!”  At  this 
point  he  wrung  his  hands  again  and  again,  while  his  face  was  livid  and 
contorted  with  anguish.  He  paused  and  in  his  distress  gasped  for  breath 
several  times.  Then  he  continued:  "I  wanted  him  to  die — and  one  day  I 
went  out  of  doors  and  hunted  for  a block  of  wood.”  He  paused  and  again 
panted  for  breath,  then  continued  rapidly:  “I  picked  up  an  old  wooden  pillow 
and  came  into  the  room.  I seized  the  crying  child  and  dragged  him  into  the 
middle  of  the  room  and  beat  his  head — I beat  his  head  till  he  was  dead! 
dead!  dead!”  On  the  instant  of  wailing  out  the  last  exclamation  the  young 
man  fell  to  the  floor,  himself  as  dead,  and  remained  so  a long  time  after  the 
meeting  had  closed  and  the  people  had  returned  to  their  homes. 

How  was  this  confession  received?  Like  the  confessions  of  many  others. 
It  sent  a shudder  of  horror  over  the  congregation,  and  threw  many  prostrate 
on  their  faces  in  sobs  and  prayers.  In  this  connection  another  question  might 
well  be  asked.  When  the  souls  of  men  are  loaded  with  the  guilt  and  woe  of 
awful  crimes  where  may  they  go  to  unload  their  guilt  before  God  if  they  are 
debarred  from  the  house  of  God?  The  horror  of  listening  to  those  confessions 
will  abide  with  those  who  were  compelled  to  listen  as  long  as  memory  lasts. 
It  was  often  impossible  to  even  look  upon  the  faces  of  those  making  these 
terrible  confessions.  It  was  an  exceptional  time,  one  that  rarely  comes  in 
the  history  of  the  church.  Confession  and  contrition  which  all  the  instru- 
ments of  torture  known  to  the  terrible  penal  code  of  Korea  would  have  been 
utterly  impotent  to  bring  about  were  produced  by  the  power  of  God’s  Spirit. 

Great  amazement  fell  upon  the  city.  The  sobs  and  groans  of  the  peni- 
tents could  be  heard  for  a great  distance  from  the  church  and  the  protracted 
character  of  the  work  filled  the  city  with  wonder  and  fear.  Many  people 
were  attracted  to  the  meeting,  some  of  whom  came  to  make  sport,  while 
others,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  enmity,  sought  to  break  up  the  meetings. 
Stones  were  hurled  at  the  building  and  some  came  crashing  through  the 
glass  and  fell  upon  the  people  while  at  worship.  Thefts  of  shoes  occurred. 
In  Korea,  instead  of  removing  their  hats,  men,  when  they  enter  the  house 
of  God,  remove  their  shoes  which  are  left  at  the  door,  so  that,  where  in 
America  a man  might  lose  his  hat,  in  Korea  he  would  lose  his  shoes. 
Probably  the  most  diabolical  attempt  to  break  up  a meeting  occurred  one 
night  when  there  was  an  immense  audience  of  over  two  thousand  persons 


12  The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

present,  more  than  half  of  them  being  women.  Among  these  was  a certain 
man’s  wife  who  was  an  earnest  seeker  and  had  determined  to  become  a 
Christian.  This  the  man  wished  to  prevent,  and  he  came  to  the  church  on 
that  particular  night  resolved  to  find  her  and  take  her  home.  Being  unable 
to  discover  her  among  the  great  crowd  present,  he  deliberately  paused  at  the 
door  on  the  woman’s  side  of  the  church  and  began  to  yell  “Fire,  fire,  fire!” 
with  all  his  might.  As  the  cry  came  in  through  the  door  the  vast  audience 
of  women  sprang  to  their  feet  in  terror  while  the  men  of  the  congregation, 
who  were  separated  from  the  women  by  a small  lattice  screen,  also  arose 
in  fright.  Immediately  the  church  was  in  a panic.  When  the  terrible  rush 
and  struggle  was  over  more  than  ten  women  and  girls  were  carried  in  and 
laid  on  the  floor  of  the  church  apparently  dead.  Fortunately  these  fears 
proved  unfounded,  and  though  some  were  seriously  injured  no  deaths 
resulted;  but  the  memory  of  this  terrible  panic,  the  result  of  the  hatred  and 
callousness  of  one  man,  remains  today  in  the  church  of  Pyengyang. 

There  was  some  fear  that  this  event  would  fill  the  minds  of  the  people 
with  such  terror  for  the  place  in  which  it  had  happened  that  they  could 
not  again  be  induced  to  go  near  it.  But  it  proved  otherwise.  The  meetings 
continued  with  unabated  interest  and,  most  remarkable  of  all,  one  of  the 
lady  missionaries  who  visited  the  injured  persons  the  next  day  found  that 
they  ascribed  their  experience  to  divine  anger  and  punishment  for  their 
failure  to  become  Christians,  for  all  of  the  injured  except  one  were  not 
Christians,  and  they  assured  the  missionary  that  as  a result  of  it  they  had 
determined  to  become  followers  of  Christ. 

During  the  course  of  this  visitation  of  God  thousands  of  the  unconverted 
united  with  the  church  as  inquirers;  yet  this  large  ingathering  of  the 
unconverted  belongs  to  the  indirect  rather  than  the  direct  results  of  the 
revival.  The  Holy  Spirit  performed  his  special  work  upon  the  church  mem- 
bership and  the  terrible  manifestations  of  distress  and  agony  were  confined 
largely  to  the  Christians  themselves.  Now  that  we  regard  the  visitation 
from  the  after-point  of  vision,  this  is  not  difficult  to  understand.  Among  a 
people  like  the  Koreans  there  is  no  definite  and  clear  idea  of  the  true  and 
terrible  character  of  sin,  so  that  when  first  converted  they  are  not  prepared 
to  manifest  the  deep  and  awful  conviction  that  is  found  among  those 
who  have  been  taught  what  sin  really  is.  This  fact  has  led  some  into 
believing  that  the  Koreans  are  incapable  of  deep  feeling.  This  revival, 
however,  has  shown  that  having  once  come  under  the  power  of  even  a semi- 
Christian  environment,  and  placed  themselves  in  a position  where  the  Holy 
Spirit  can  work  on  their  hearts,  they  are  as  capable  of  an  overwhelming 
sense  of  sin  as  any  people  on  earth.  The  one  cry  of  the  Korean  church  was 
for  heart  cleansing. 


The  Awakening  of  the  Students 

The  story  of  the  revival  has  indicated  clearly  that  it  was  not  confined  to 
the  meetings  held  in  the  churches,  but  was  universal.  The  power  of  God 
rested  continuously  on  the  people,  so  that  in  their  homes  and  places  of 
business  and  wherever  they  were  in  the  habit  of  going  the  same  phenomenon 
appeared.  This  was  particularly  true  of  the  educational  institutions  of  the 
missions,  and  of  this  phase  of  the  revival  the  story  is  most  interesting. 


13 


The  Awakening  of  the  Students 

The  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  Missions  in  north  Korea  have  always 
carried  on  their  work  with  the  fullest  cooperation,  and  the  good  fellowship 
that  has  prevailed  among  the  missionaries,  not  only  socially  but  officially, 
has  resulted  in  largely  increased  efficiency.  The  unity  which  prevails  among 
the  missionaries  has  its  best  expression  in  the  Pyengyang  Union  College  and 
Academy,  which  with  a common  plant  and  a union  faculty  is  a very  successful 
educational  institution  of  over  three  hundred  students.  These  early  came 
under  the  power  of  the  revival.  The  student  body  offered  splendid  material 
upon  which  the  Spirit  of  God  might  work.  It  was  composed  of  the  choicest 
young  men  from  the  churches  throughout  the  north  as  well  as  from  the 
city  itself.  It  is  a noteworthy  fact  that  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
revival  every  student  was  a professing  Christian.  The  story  of  God’s  visita- 
tion to  the  school  in  Pyengyang  wonderfully  illustrates  the  fact  already 
mentioned  that  the  revival  was  a special  blessing  to  the  Christian  community. 
It  will  be  impossible  to  estimate  the  importance  of  this  fact  coupled  with 
that  other  fact  that,  in  cleansing  the  student  body,  God  was  reaching,  through 
its  most  promising  followers,  the  entire  church  in  north  Korea. 

The  opening  of  the  second  school  term  began  -while  the  revival  was  in 
the  height  of  its  power.  The  students  fell  under  its  influence  even  more 
readily  than  had  the  general  membership  of  the  church.  During  the  first 
week  so  deep  was  the  feeling  among  them  that  it  was  a practical  impossibility 
to  take  up  the  work  of  the  school.  The  Spirit  of  God  moved  so  mightily 
upon  the  students  that  it  was  not  possible  for  them  to  direct  their  thoughts 
to  their  studies.  After  the  first  break  of  the  storm  had  passed,  and  they 
were  able  to  get  to  their  books,  they  would  study  in  quiet  interest,  but  during 
the  day,  when  an  opportunity  was  given  them  for  prayer,  scenes  of  over- 
whelming sorrow  for  their  own  sins  or  for  the  sins  of  fellow-students  would 
be  repeated.  Previous  to  the  opening  of  the  school  some  of  the  resident 
students  in  Pyengyang  had  passed  through  the  fire  in  the  meetings  held  in 
the  churches,  going  through  all  the  terrible  experience  of  agony  for  sin. 
Prayer  meetings  were  held  by  the  Korean  members  of  the  school  faculty  in 
the  study  of  the  principal,  beseeching  God  that  the  coming  term  might  be 
marked  by  the  conquest  of  the  entire  student  body.  One  morning  while 
one  of  these  prayer  meetings  was  in  progress  in  the  study  the  two  mission- 
aries in  charge  of  the  school  were  kneeling  together  in  another  room  praying 
for  relief  from  the  burden  for  the  school  that  had  been  rolled  upon  their 
hearts.  Swiftly  the  answer  came.  Upon  the  meeting  in  the  study  the  Spirit 
of  God  fell;  cries  and  sobs  of  anguish  filled  the  room  and  continued  until 
the  students  were  overwhelmed  and  prostrated  by  the  sense  of  their  guilt. 
The  two  weeks  that  followed  were  dreadful  and  wonderful.  As  it  was  the 
time  of  the  preliminary  examinations  the  hour  of  four  o’clock  in  the  after- 
noon was  set  aside  for  student  meetings  which  were  held  without  any  visible 
leader;  but  the  Leader  was  there  in  all  his  power  and  majesty,  and  terrible 
was  the  manifestation  of  His  presence.  If  men  ever  discovered  the  terrible- 
ness of  sin  when  revealed  uncovered  in  the  presence  of  God,  they  did  in 
those  days.  First  came  the  physical  distress,  penitents  beating  the  floor 
with  hands  and  with  head,  and  their  screams  and  outcries  were  as  though 
the  demons  whose  name  is  legion  were  tearing  them;  then  followed  sobbing 
confessions  of  sinful  and  unclean  lives.  One  general  characteristic  of  these 
seekers  was  their  conscientiousness.  No  half  work,  no  superficial  skimming 
of  the  surface  would  satisfy  them.  If  any  of  them  allowed  himself  to  be 


14  The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

betrayed  into  being  satisfied  with  less  than  complete  cleansing,  he  would 
soon  discover  how  futile  were  his  attempts,  and  would  be  brought  low  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross  there  to  remain  on  his  face  until  God  had  completed  His 
work. 

The  experience  of  one  of  the  most  promising  students  is  illustrative. 
He  early  came  under  the  influence  of  the  revival,  and  after  a severe  mental 
struggle  of  several  days  he  felt  convinced  that  in  spite  of  it  all  he  had  yet 
failed  to  obtain  the  full  pardon  of  his  sins.  On  a certain  night  he  met 
with  three  comrades  and  together  they  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  night 
in  prayer  mingled  with  mutual  confessions  of  their  sins.  Late  the  next 
morning  he  appeared  at  the  study  of  his  pastor  to  perform  some  routine 
duties  expected  of  him  and  apologized  for  being  late  by  explaining  the 
manner  of  spending  the  night  with  his  friends.  His  pastor  asked  him 
whether  he  had  secured  the  peace  that  he  so  earnestly  sought.  He  replied 
in  the  affirmative,  and  his  pastor  with  the  desire  of  directing  his  thoughts 
and  encouraging  him  talked  with  him  on  the  subject  of  a life  without  sin. 
That  evening  the  meeting  at  the  school  was  one  of  great  spiritual  power. 
The  distress  and  agony  shown  by  the  students  produced  a scene  never  to  be 
forgotten.  The  slain  of  the  Lord  were  lying  where  they  had  fallen  in 
different  places;  they  literally  covered  the  floor.  The  hour  was  drawing 
toward  midnight  and  it  was  necessary  to  close  the  meeting,  yet  more  than 
thirty  boys  were  still  standing  on  their  feet  and  some  of  them  had  stood 
for  hours  waiting  for  a chance  to  unload  the  burden  of  sin  on  their  souls. 
It  seemed  hard  to  send  these  young  men  away  with  their  burden  still  unre- 
lieved, but  the  hour  was  so  late  that  finally  those  in  charge  brought  the 
meeting  to  a close.  The  young  man  to  whom  we  have  referred,  and  who  had 
stated  that  morning  that  he  had  found  pardon  and  peace  the  night  before, 
was  noticed  to  be  in  tears.  This,  however,  did  not  attract  any  attention. 
Most  of  the  people  had  withdrawn  from  the  room  but  the  young  man 
remained.  One  of  the  lady  missionaries,  noticing  his  distress,  went  to  him 
and  taking  his  hand  repeated  the  pastor’s  question  of  the  morning,  “Have 
you  obtained  peace  through  faith?”  With  a great  sob  he  broke  out,  “O, 
no,  no,  I have  no  peace.”  He  went  to  the  most  distant  corner  of  the  chapel 
and  throwing  himself  on  the  floor  wept  in  sorrow.  Presently  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  anguish  he  sent  someone  to  call  his  pastor.  When  the  latter 
appeared,  he  cried  out:  “I  lied  to  you  this  morning.  I wanted  you  to 
think  that  I had  obtained  that  which  the  others  had  obtained.  I wanted 
you  to  think  well  of  me,  so  I lied  to  you.  I have  no  peace  of  heart.  O,  what 
shall  I do?”  That  night  he  with  a number  of  others  spent  the  whole  night 
in  prayer  and  confession  of  sins.  God  then  visited  them  in  power.  When 
the  morning  dawned  the  blessing  was  his,  and  with  a heart  filled  with  glad- 
ness and  joy  he  proclaimed  his  new  experience  to  all  whom  he  met.  Cleansed, 
purified,  and  empowered  of  God,  he  immediately  assumed  a place  of  prom- 
inence in  the  church  and  of  influence  over  his  fellow-students.  Later  he  was 
one  of  a number  who  volunteered  for  the  Christian  ministry.  There  were 
others  like  him,  and,  though  few  in  number,  they  formed  a steadying  element 
during  the  terrible  scenes  which  followed,  for  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion, 
grief,  and  dismay  of  their  fellow-students  this  advance  guard  were  able  to 
testify  to  the  sense  of  pardon,  peace,  and  joy. 

Another  notable  characteristic  of  this  revival  was  the  introducing  of  the 
.students  to  a life  of  intercession  on  behalf  of  their  comrades.  Those  students 


15 


The  Awakening  of  the  Students 

who  had  already  received  the  blessing  spent  hours  every  day  in  prayer,  and 
some  passed  whole  nights  on  their  faces  before  God.  It  is  in  this  fact  that 
the  explanation  must  be  found  for  many  of  the  results  which  attended  the 
revival.  Korean  Christians  and  foreign  missionaries  alike  discovered  the 
real  meaning  of  intercessory  prayer.  After  a confession  of  terrible  guilt 
on  the  part  of  one  man  a missionary  knelt  to  intercede  for  him.  As  he 
prayed  the  missionary  fell  prostrate  on  the  floor  before  God,  as  though  crushed 
there  by  the  awful  weight  of  the  other’s  guilt  and  woe.  It  seemed  as  though 
he  himself  was  suffering  in  the  place  of  the  other  and  would  die  if  relief 
were  not  granted.  Does  not  this  give  us  a hint  of  the  true  meaning  of 
Christ’s  suffering  in  Gethsemane? 

This  feature  of  intercessory  prayer  became  a marked  characteristic  of 
the  meetings  themselves.  A number  of  the  young  men  as  soon  as  they  would 
enter  a room  where  a meeting  was  to  be  held  would  fall  on  their  faces  before 
God  and  remain  throughout  the  entire  service  utterly  oblivious  of  the  course 
of  the  meeting  but  remaining  with  arms  of  faith  outstretched  to  God  while 
the  tumult  of  repentance,  confession,  and  grief  over  sin  rolled  and  surged 
all  about  them.  At  one  of  the  meetings  an  opportunity  was  given  to  all  who 
had  any  ill  feeling  toward  anyone  present  or  wrho  had  wronged  another  in 
any  way  to  make  confession  and  ask  forgiveness.  The  scene  that  followed 
can  only  be  hinted  at.  The  meeting  broke  into  numerous  groups  of  students 
weeping  in  each  other’s  arms,  nor  did  the  members  of  the  faculty  escape,  for 
boys  who  had  been  unruly  or  disorderly  were  weeping  at  their  knees  or 
hanging  about  their  necks.  The  characteristic  faults  of  the  students,  the  little 
sins  that  so  easily  beset  the  boy  at  school,  the  “cribbing”  in  examinations, 
thieving  and  falsifying,  spites  and  grudges  were  confessed,  and  in  the  act 
of  confessing  cleansed  out  of  the  soul. 

There  are  a number  of  other  schools,  boys’,  girls’,  primary,  and  night 
schools,  in  and  about  the  city,  and  these  were  all  soon  ablaze  with  the  fire 
of  the  revival.  As  there  are  over  a thousand  students  in  the  mission  schools 
in  Pyengyang  alone,  the  importance  of  this  fact  will  be  easily  recognized. 
The  revival  in  the  high  school  continued  until  every  student  had  felt  its 
power  and  fully  nine  tenths  had  come  into  a conscious  experience  of  being 
born  again.  The  result  on  the  life  of  the  school  was  immediate  and  radical. 
Private  devotions  were  carried  on  faithfully  night  and  morning  by  every 
student,  while  two  thirds  of  the  entire  student  body  could  be  found  in  the 
retiring  prayer  room  of  the  school  every  day.  Many  of  them  heard 
the  call  to  preach,  and  each  Sunday  groups  of  students  could  be  found 
throughout  the  city  and  in  nearby  country  villages  preaching  the  gospel. 
Many  voluntarily  made  an  offering  of  their  time  and  energy  for  the  work 
of  preaching  and  teaching  during  the  summer  vacation.  Thirty-three  of 
the  boys  bf  our  mission  took  definite  appointments  for  this  work  writh  no 
other  return  than  that  of  their  food  during  the  time  of  their  labors.  One 
student  who  had  received  permission  to  go  home  for  a few  days  came  back 
with  a shining  face  telling  of  the  blessings  he  had  received.  His  father’s  and 
mother’s  religious  experience  had  been  deepened,  and  an  uncle  had  been 
converted  to  the  faith.  The  people  of  his  native  village  had  met  in  the  little 
church  to  hear  him  preach  every  night  while  he  was  there,  and  the  power 
of  confession  came  upon  them  with  the  same  manifestation  as  in  the  city. 
Ten  persons  gave  in  their  names  as  seekers,  and  plans  for  a new  church  and 
girls’  school  were  set  on  foot. 


16 


The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

The  fruits  of  the  revival  were  further  seen  among  the  students  in  other 
ways.  There  was  a greater  application  to  study  and  a marked  deference  to  the 
wishes  of  the  teachers.  Discipline  became  comparatively  easy  in  dealing 
with  the  majority  of  the  students.  The  roots  of  bitterness  and  jealousy  were 
removed,  and  it  was  not  an  unusual  thing  for  the  boys  to  begin  their  ordinary 
class  work,  such  as  the  work  in  geometry,  with  silent  prayer.  The  revival  did 
for  the  character  of  the  students  what  many  years  of  training  could  not 
have  done. 

In  addition  to  the  high  school  there  was  another  body  of  students  of 
even  more  importance  upon  whom  the  revival  wrought  a marvelous  work, 
namely,  those  who  were  looking  forward  to  the  ministry  of  the  church.  For 
many  years  there  has  been  a wonderful  turning  of  the  Korean  people  toward 
the  church  and  the  increase  of  followers  had  completely  outdistanced  the 
ability  of  the  church  authorities  at  home  to  supply  the  necessary  workers  to 
care  for  them.  This  lack  of  missionaries  had  compelled  the  placing  of 
burdens  of  responsibility  upon  the  shoulders  of  native  workers  long  before 
they  were  adequately  prepared.  The  loyalty  and  devotion  of  the  church  in 
Korea  has  excited  the  admiration  of  all  familiar  with  the  facts.  The  helpers 
and  preachers  were  diligent  in  their  work  and  zealous  to  lead  their  country- 
men to  become  Christians,  but  there  was  no  regular  ministry  among  them  such 
as  we  understand  by  the  term.  The  men  engaged  in  the  work  were  lay  workers 
who,  while  admirable  in  many  ways,  yet  up  to  this  time  had  no  adequate 
conception  of  the  call  to  the  Christian  ministry.  These  lay  workers  number 
in  the  aggregate  throughout  Korea  several  hundred,  and  in  order  to  prepare 
them  for  their  work  Bible  institutes  and  training  classes  are  held  from  time 
to  time  at  the  mission  centers.  These  are  always  times  of  intense  interest. 
The  men  will  come  to  the  designated  center,  many  of  them  carrying  upon 
their  backs  the  rice  necessary  to  serve  as  their  food  during  the  time  of  the 
class.  Here  they  will  remain  from  two  to  four  weeks  at  a time  diligently 
studying  God’s  Word  for  eight  or  ten  hours  a day  under  the  leadership  of  the 
missionary  and  his  assistants.  It  was  at  the  great  class  held  in  Pyengyang 
in  December,  1906,  preceding  the  revival,  that  the  attention  of  the  workers 
was  called  to  the  claim  of  the  Christian  ministry  upon  their  lives  and  they 
were  asked  to  personally  consider  the  matter.  No  effort  was  made  to  force 
any  of  them  to  a decision  and  no  undue  pressure  was  brought  to  bear. 
For  a week,  however,  the  matter  was  most  prayerfully  considered  by  the 
entire  class.  On  the  final  Sunday  an  opportunity  was  given  to  those  who 
had  reached  a decision  to  enroll  themselves  as  volunteers  for  the  ministry. 
Then,  as  though  God  had  himself  sent  out  the  command,  one  hundred  and 
seventy-six  Koreans  stepped  out  from  the  ranks  of  the  believers  and  conse- 
crated themselves  as  volunteers  for  the  Christian  ministry.  Many  of  these 
were  from  among  the  finest  young  men  that  were  in  the  church.  It  is 
doubtful  if  in  any  land  such  a large  body  of  volunteers  for  the  Christian 
ministry  ever  enrolled  themselves  on  a single  occasion. 

When  the  missionaries  came  to  view  this  body  of  stalwart  young  men, 
and  caught  a vision  of  the  task  which  awaited  them  of  training  and  prepar- 
ing them  for  their  lifework,  a feeling  of  dismay  came  over  them,  for  none 
felt  equal  to  the  task.  And  yet  the  necessity  of  training  them  was  impera- 
tive, for  these  men  were  comparatively  recent  converts  from  the  old  life. 
They  personally  recognized  their  need  of  training  and  were  full  of  intense 
desire  to  make  adequate  preparation  for  their  work.  Most  of  them  were 


The  Awakening  of  the  Students  17 

willing  to  pay  any  price  in  the  way  of  hardships  and  self-denial  to  achieve 
this.  As  far  as  the  attitude  of  the  student  body  was  concerned  there  was 
little  to  be  desired.  But  in  Korea  our  equipment  for  a work  like  this  both 
in  men  and  institutions  is  pitiably  inadequate.  It  takes  many  tens  of 
thousands  of  dollars  and  much  ripe  scholarship  to  train  the  candidates  for 
the  ministry  in  America.  As  the  missionaries  confronted  their  task  in 
Korea,  and  recognized  the  immensity  of  the  needs  and  the  poverty  of 
resources,  it  is  little  wonder  that  they  were  appalled.  The  revival  was 
God’s  solution  of  the  difficulty.  It  was  in  full  swing  when  the  class  of 
volunteers  for  the  ministry  assembled  in  Pyengyang  City  for  a month  of 
theological  instruction.  From  the  first  day  the  power  of  God  was  upon  the 
class  and  it  swept  through  them  until  the  last  man  had  been  cleansed  and 
purified. 

The  same  fact  which  has  been  noted  in  connection  with  the  experiences 
of  the  high  school  students  appeared  in  connection  with  the  theological 
students,  namely,  that  the  best  men,  those  who  were  supposed  to  be  the  most 
spiritually  minded,  were  the  first  to  be  overwhelmed  with  the  new  experience, 
and  their  distress  was  not  less  than  that  of  those  not  so  well  instructed  in 
Christian  living.  The  history  of  one  member  of  the  class  may  be  taken  as 
typical  of  this.  A sturdy  northern  man  had  been  a Christian  for  ten  years. 
Moreover,  before  giving  his  heart  to  Christ  he  had  been  an  earnest  seeker 
after  truth.  In  Korea  people  of  this  kind  often  appear,  and  are  much 
honored  for  their  piety  and  sanctity.  It  is  usual  for  them  to  resort  to  some 
lonely  mountain  and  there  live  the  life  of  a hermit,  giving  themselves  to 
fasting  and  prayer.  Following  this  custom,  this  man  spent  two  years  living 
this  life,  and  refusing  to  have  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men:  alone,  with 
little  to  eat  and  scarcely  clothing  enough  to  keep  him  from  suffering  during 
the  severe  winters,  he  spent  his  time  in  studying  the  classics  and  bringing 
his  body  into  subjection.  Though  outwardly  he  appeared  to  have  obtained 
his  wishes  yet  deep  in  his  own  heart  he  was  conscious  that  only  failure  had 
met  him.  He  was  still  the  same  man  that  had  gone  into  the  wilderness, 
with  the  same  weaknesses  uncorrected  and  passions  unchanged.  The  empti- 
ness and  futility  of  such  a life  grew  upon  him  and  filled  him  w'ith  disgust, 
and  abandoning  it  he  sought  again  the  fellowship  of  men.  This  reaction 
caused  him  to  plunge  into  the  other  extreme  and  he  joined  the  army  where 
his  life  was  the  exact  reverse  of  that  for  which  the  journey  into  the  wilder- 
ness had  stood.  It  was  during  his  career  as  a soldier  that  he  became  a 
Christian  and  joined  the  church.  This  proved  his  salvation.  He  brought 
into  the  church  life  the  same  intensity  of  purpose  which  had  marked  him  as 
a hermit  and  as  a soldier.  He  was  soon  filling  a position  of  responsibility  in 
the  church  work,  and  in  order  to  be  able  to  give  all  the  time  possible  to  it  he 
resigned  his  post  as  a petty  officer  in  the  army  and,  returning  to  his  father's 
home,  settled  down  to  the  life  of  a Christian  farmer.  He  began  house-to- 
house  visitation  throughout  the  town  and  the  adjoining  villages,  telling  the 
glad  story  of  his  own  salvation  and  urging  others  to  seek  Christ.  As  the 
believers  grew  in  number  he  conceived  the  idea  of  building  a church  in  his 
native  village.  A number  of  neighbors  agreed  to  assist  in  the  matter,  and, 
collecting  all  they  could  possibly  raise,  they  united  in  the  project.  The  little 
chapel  rapidly  rose  to  completion  while  each  day  the  members  of  the  church 
hovered  about  it  watching  its  progress  with  satisfaction.  By  the  time  the 
rafters  were  in  place,  however,  their  funds  ran  out  and  they  had  no  money 


18 


The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

with  which  to  pay  the  bills.  Their  only  resource  was  prayer  and  to  this 
they  applied  themselves  assiduously.  Many  plans  were  discussed  but  always 
with  the  result  that  the  only  feasible  one  seemed  to  be  to  pray  again. 
“No,”  said  the  leader,  when  repeatedly  asked  regarding  the  results  of  his 
prayers,  “there  is  not  a cash.”  This  continued  for  some  time  and  the  work 
came  to  a standstill.  The  skeleton  of  the  building  stood  there  incomplete 
and  the  heavens  still  seemed  to  have  locked  up  the  answer.  One  day  a 
meeting  of  all  the  members  was  called  and  after  prayer  the  soldier-farmer 
solemnly  announced  to  his  fellow-laborers  that  he  proposed  to  answer  his 
own  prayers.  “Now,”  said  he,  “there  is  our  ox,  a strong,  good  animal  and 
worth  considerable  money.  It  is  the  only  one  we  have  to  do  the  work  on  my 
farm,  and  what  we  will  do  when  it  is  gone  I do  not  know,  but  God’s  house 
must  be  finished  and  the  ox  must  help  us  to  do  it.  I will  sell  the  animal  and 
thus  secure  money  to  complete  the  building.  As  for  the  farm,  let  us  trust 
God  that  he  will  take  care  of  our  fields.”  Great  indeed  was  the  surprise 
of  the  church  members  at  this  heroic  gift,  and  great  also  was  their  gratitude. 
He  was  as  good  as  his  word  and  immediately  sold  his  ox.  The  church  was 
completed  and  dedicated  to  the  use  of  God.  Some  weeks  later  the  missionary 
when  visiting  the  village  and  going  to  the  fields  saw  this  Korean  Christian 
and  his  brother  harnessed  side  by  side  to  the  plow  in  the  place  of  the  ox 
that  had  been  sold,  while  the  aged  father  held  the  handles  and  followed  the 
furrow. 

Born  in  a spirit  of  consecration  like  this,  the  church  grew  steadily  and 
rapidly,  until  today  it  is  the  largest  village  church  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Mission  in  the  north,  while  the  old  building  has  been  replaced  by  a more 
commodious  one.  It  was  inevitable  that  this  Christian  should  rise  to  a 
position  of  responsibility  in  connection  with  church  work,  and  he  was  soon 
made  a local  preacher  and  placed  in  charge  of  a circuit  of  twenty-two  villages. 
It  was  with  a Christian  life  of  this  kind  that  he  came  to  the  theological 
class  in  January,  1907.  It  would  seem  that  there  would  be  very  little  work 
needed  in  the  heart  of  a man  like  this,  yet  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  fall 
under  the  power  of  God.  His  repentance  and  contrition  for  sin  were  terrible 
to  behold.  The  whole  past  life  before  he  had  found  Christ,  with  its  dark 
record  of  sin,  was  confessed,  while  even  more  intense  was  his  repentance 
over  faithlessness  and  disloyalty  to  Christ  after  he  had  taken  him  as  his 
Saviour.  God  gave  him  pardon  and  peace,  and  all  the  fierce  powers  of  his 
nature  were  tamed  and  brought  into  subjection  to  the  law  of  Christ.  This 
preacher  went  from  the  theological  class  a different  and  a greater  man  than 
he  was  before  he  came. 

It  was  men  of  such  character  that  passed  through  this  terrible  storm. 
Why  God  should  have  selected  them  is  a mystery,  and  yet  their  confessions 
revealed  the  fact  that  their  need  of  an  experience  like  this  was  supreme; 
while  the  fact  that  multitudes  of  fresh  converts  were  coming  under  their 
guidance,  and  upon  them  fell  the  duty  of  leading  them  in  the  way  of  Christ, 
rendered  it  the  more  imperative  that  they  should  be  cleansed  by  the  purify- 
ing power  of  God. 

As  the  missionaries  listened  to  the  confessions  of  some  of  these  men  they 
could  hardly  credit  their  ears.  For  it  was  a revelation  of  the  character 
and  the  needs  of  the  people  which  was  astonishing.  From  what  came  out 
in  their  confessions  it  would  seem  that  no  people  in  the  world  hide  away 
in  their  lives  so  many  tragedies  as  the  Korean  people.  This  tragedy  of  life 


Spread  of  the  Revival 


19 


has  molded  their  ideas  and  religious  susceptibilities.  One  may  visit  any 
village,  choose  some  individual,  and,  pulling  aside  the  curtain  of  his  life, 
find  a history  hidden  away  more  thrilling  than  can  be  found  in  works  of 
fiction.  Though  this  may  seem  an  extreme  statement,  yet  the  revelation  of 
soul  life  which  came  out  in  the  revival  showed  currents  running  so  deep 
and  troubled  that  the  statement  appears  to  us  completely  justifiable.  The 
scenes  of  violence  and  crime,  the  ruin  of  individuals  and  homes,  the  innumer- 
able cases  of  oppression  and  violence  which  were  told  would  fill  many  volumes 
and  can  be  explained  only  on  the  ground  of  imperfect  laws  and  an  astonishing 
disregard  of  human  life.  It  was  into  hearts  where  were  hid  tragedies  untold 
that  God  sent  the  power  of  his  Holy  Spirit  to  redeem  and  save. 

Spread  of  the  Revival 

Long  before  the  special  meetings  were  over  in  the  city  of  Pyengyang 
manifestations  of  the  same  remarkable  conviction  and  contrition  for  sin 
appeared  in  other  localities,  so  that  in  a short  time  the  entire  church  in 
Korea  was  ablaze,  though  in  varying  degrees.  This  was  brought  about  in  two 
ways.  First,  visitors  from  other  sections,  coming  under  the  influence  of  the 
revival  in  Pyengyang,  returned  to  their  homes.  Second,  there  was  an 
organized  effort  through  invitations  from  churches  and  missionaries  in  other 
localities  to  send  the  stronger  men  who  had  experienced  the  cleansing  power 
in  Pyengyang  to  these  churches  and  localities  to  carry  on  a well-organized 
and  personally  directed  revival  effort.  The  results  from  these  efforts  were 
widespread  and  lasting. 

One  of  the  first  regions  to  feel  the  power  of  the  revival  was  the  North 
Pyengyang  Province,  especially  the  region  centering  around  Yengbyen.  This 
city  is  the  capital  of  the  province  and  the  youngest  of  the  mission  stations  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  strongest 
centers  of  devil  worship  in  Korea,  but  already  the  church  has  made  such  an 
impression  on  the  life  of  the  people  that  it  is  said  devil  worship  has  decreased 
by  one  half  while  the  income  of  sorcerers  has  been  greatly  reduced.  Services 
were  held  in  the  city  church  at  Yengbyen  and  many  of  the  people,  especially 
among  the  local  preachers  and  workers,  were  greatly  blessed. 

Not  only  was  this  true  of  the  Yengbyen  City  church,  but  even  in  a more 
marked  degree  the  revival  benefited  the  country  groups.  Out  in  the  villages 
and  hamlets,  -without  the  assistance  and  guidance  of  the  foreign  missionary, 
native  Christians  carried  on  the  work  with  great  success.  In  one  of  the  far 
northern  groups  lived  a young  man  who  had  studied  as  a student  in  the 
Pyengyang  Academy  and  had  there  passed  through  the  spiritual  fire.  As  is 
usual  with  all  true  converts,  his  first  thought  was  for  his  relatives  in  his 
northern  home.  He  hastened  back  to  his  native  town  and  at  once  began  to 
tell  the  people  what  he  had  received.  The  result  was  a regenerated  and 
spiritual  church.  Like  a flaming  evangel  he  went  from  group  to  group  of 
the  Christians  in  the  mountains  and  valleys  of  that  northern  region  and 
everywhere  carried  the  blessing  with  him.  The  whole  country  was  set  on 
fire  and  some  of  the  results  achieved  were  of  a remarkable  character. 

Territory  occupied  by  the  American  Mining  Concession  in  North  Korea 
is  embraced  in  the  Yengbyen  District.  Here  a very  interesting  work  has 
been  carried  on  which  has  enjoyed  the  good  will  of  the  mining  company  and 
has  been  aided  by  them  in  many  ways.  When  this  young  student  from 


20  The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

Pyengyang  visited  the  native  church  at  Pukchin,  one  of  the  central  camps 
of  the  mines,  his  message  greatly  stirred  the  members.  Among  these  was  a 
young  Korean  employed  in  the  assay  office  of  the  company  and  regarded  as 
the  most  trusted  native  employed  on  the  concession.  He  became  deeply 
convicted  over  a crime  he  had  committed  during  the  years  previous  to  his 
conversion.  He  had  fallen  into  temptation  and  had  at  different  times  stolen 
small  quantities  of  gold  until  he  had  accumulated  the  equivalent  of  a con- 
siderable sum  of  money.  After  joining  the  church  he  hid  this  gold  hoping 
that  he  might  have  the  opportunity  to  make  the  matter  right.  His  life  had 
become  exemplary,  but  all  this  time  he  carried  in  his  heart  the  secret  of  his 
crime.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  power  of  God  took  hold  of  him,  and 
convicted  him  so  that  he  determined  to  make  a full  confession  of  the  matter 
and  return  the  gold.  Accordingly,  one  day  he  sought  the  mining  officials  and 
placing  the  gold  before  them  told  of  his  crime  and  said  that  while  it  meant 
his  discharge,  disgrace,  and  punishment  he  must  at  all  events  get  right  with 
them  and  with  God.  This  act  produced  a profound  impression  on  his 
employers.  The  assistant  general  manager  took  him  by  the  hand  and  com- 
mending the  moral  courage  of  the  act  told  him  that  they  would  forgive  the 
crime  and  would  not  discharge  him.  The  result  was  that  this  trusted 
employee  of  the  mining  concession  succeeded  in  not  only  straightening  out 
the  crookedness  of  the  past,  but  in  showing  himself  worthy  of  the  increased 
confidence  which  his  employers  were  glad  to  bestow  upon  him. 

South  of  the  city  of  Pyengyang  is  the  flourishing  town  of  Yangduk. 
Here  among  the  hills  in  the  county  of  Pongsan  a number  of  hamlets  and 
villages  have  been  partially  evangelized,  and  the  church  which  is  located 
at  Yangduk  is  a most  promising  one.  There  was  a wedding  at  this  church 
during  the  time  of  the  revival  in  Pyengyang  and  a Korean  pastor  went  there 
to  perform  the  ceremony.  He  was  fresh  from  the  revival  and  filled  with  the 
Spirit  of  God.  After  the  wedding  he  was  invited  to  preach,  and  as  he 
delivered  the  message  which  God  had  given  him  the  Spirit  fell  upon  the 
crowd  and  the  men  began  to  stand  up  and  confess  their  sins.  Great  distress 
was  upon  them,  and  the  anguish  and  grief  which  were  among  the  peculiarities 
of  this  revival  were  again  manifested.  After  listening  a while  the  preacher 
called  their  attention  to  the  fact  that  repentance  without  restitution  would 
be  in  vain.  The  crowd  had  watched  at  first  with  a disposition  to  hoot  and 
laugh  at  the  distress  of  those  who  were  under  conviction.  A change,  however, 
soon  came  over  them.  No  sooner  had  the  penitents  heard  the  suggestion 
of  the  preacher  that  restitution  was  necessary  than  some  of  them  arose  and 
sought  among  those  present  the  people  whom  they  had  wronged  and  con- 
fessing their  sins  asked  for  forgiveness.  In  some  cases  they  even  insisted 
on  paying  them  immediately  the  cost  of  chickens  and  eggs  and  other  articles 
which  they  had  purloined.  This  made  a profound  impression  on  all  those 
present,  and  those  who  had  at  first  scoffed  and  jeered  were  not  only  silenced 
but  brought  under  conviction  themselves.  The  visiting  pastor  had  intended 
to  take  the  evening  train  back  to  Pyengyang  City  but  the  people  would  not 
let  him  go;  so  he  remained  there  and  preached  that  night  and  the  next  day, 
and  before  he  departed  the  church  was  regenerated  and  cleansed  by  the 
fire  of  God. 

Chungsan  is  the  prefectural  city  of  the  large  county  of  the  same  name 
and  is  situated  high  up  among  tall  peaks,  from  which  you  can  see  in  one 
direction  the  city  of  Pyengyang,  thirty  miles  away,  or  in  the  other  direction 


Spread  of  the  Revival 


21 


look  far  out  over  the  muddy  waves  of  the  Yellow  Sea.  The  church  is  nestled 
down  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  tallest  peaks  of  the  mountain  range  and  from 
its  natural  location  is  a strategic  center  of  our  work  in  that  very  populous 
section  of  the  country.  Work  had  been  carried  on  successfully  in  Chungsan 
for  eight  years  and  the  whole  county  was  dotted  with  Christian  chapels.  One 
day  the  leader  of  this  group  of  Christians  came  to  Pyengyang  and  said  that 
he  had  a strange  and  inexplicable  story  to  tell.  He  had  not  known  of  the 
revival  in  Pyengyang,  and  as  communication  between  Chungsan  and  the 
capital  city  is  difficult  and  infrequent  the  church  had  not  heard  of  it.  He 
had  been  carrying  on  meetings  in  connection  with  the  special  services  of  the 
Week  of  Prayer  and  things  had  been  going  along  very  satisfactorily  when  to 
his  great  surprise  they  took  a strange  turn.  Men  would  rise  up  and  confess 
their  sins,  he  said,  and  not  content  with  that  would  break  down  in  an  anguish 
of  grief  and  sorrow  over  them.  The  result  was  that  a strange  new  life  had 
come  into  the  church  in  a way  so  mysterious  that  the  leader  was  quite 
puzzled  by  it  and  hastened  to  Pyengyang  to  report  to  the  missionary  and  to 
get  his  judgment  upon  it.  This  instance  gives  evidence  that  the  revival  was 
independent  of  all  human  agencies  and  the  power  would  descend  upon  the 
people  as  mysteriously  as  the  falling  of  dew.  No  missionary  was  present 
with  this  church  during  the  days  of  its  revival.  The  leader  himself  was  a 
man  who  was  cold  and  indifferent  in  his  spiritual  life,  so  that  he  had  become 
a problem,  and  the  missionary  in  charge  had  come  to  regard  the  man  as 
unfitted  for  the  position.  The  revival  here  was  but  a spontaneous  manifesta- 
tion of  the  freedom  of  the  Spirit  in  going  where  He  listed. 

The  new  year  either  according  to  the  Gregorian  calendar  or  the  old 
Korean  calendar  (for  both  are  observed  in  Korea  and  are  only  about  one 
month  apart)  is  observed  as  a time  of  special  evangelistic  effort.  This  is  one 
of  the  results  of  the  observance  of  the  Universal  Week  of  Prayer.  Very  often 
the  Korean  churches  will  begin  with  the  world-wide  concert  of  prayer  during 
the  first  week  in  January  and  renew  it  at  the  time  of  the  Korean  New  Year. 
Chemulpo  is  one  of  the  strongest  churches  in  Korea.  It  has  a specially 
strong  official  board,  and  at  the  time  of  the  revival  at  Pyengyang  was  under 
the  leadership  of  a very  capable  Korean  pastor.  This  church  began  its 
usual  revival  efforts  at  the  time  of  the  Korean  New  Year,  which  fell  early 
in  February.  The  official  board  was  aroused  to  activity,  and  every  afternoon 
those  composing  it  went  out  by  twos  to  preach  the  gospel  to  their  friends 
and  neighbors.  Two  services  were  held  each  day  in  the  church,  one  in  the 
morning  and  one  in  the  evening.  During  these  services  the  character  of  sin 
and  its  consequences  were  dwelt  upon  and  at  the  end  of  the  week  the  church 
seemed  to  be  thoroughly  aroused.  Many  of  the  members  had  tearfully  con- 
fessed their  sins  and  sought  forgiveness,  and  one  hundred  and  ninety  new 
converts  had  been  received  as  inquirers.  The  Korean  pastor  and  the  official 
board  felt  that  the  meetings  had  been  successful  and  had  accomplished  their 
purpose,  so  that  it  would  be  well  to  close  them  before  the  interest  had  died 
out.  This  plan  prevailed,  though  a few  who  had  been  especially  awakened 
by  the  services  decided  to  meet  daily  for  prayer,  that  God  would  visit  the 
church  in  greater  power. 

Sporadic  efforts  continued  after  the  revival  in  the  Chemulpo  church  until 
about  the  end  of  March,  when  two  of  the  Korean  preachers  in  Pyengyang 
came  to  Chemulpo  by  invitation  and  began  special  work  among  the  church 
members.  They  arrived  one  night  about  ten  o’clock  and  the  church  was 


22 


The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

crowded  to  receive  them.  Dusty  and  weary  with  their  long  journey,  they  took 
time  to  tell  a little  of  the  wonderful  work  done  in  the  North  and  retired  to 
rest.  The  next  day  they  began  their  work  only  to  find  that  an  intense  spirit 
of  opposition  was  manifested  on  the  part  of  the  Korean  pastor  and  some  of 
the  members  of  the  official  board.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  the  meeting  was 
marked  by  the  Spirit’s  presence,  and  deep  conviction  came  upon  many  of  the 
people,  leading  to  repentance  and  to  public  confession.  The  opposition, 
however,  continued  through  the  week  and  culminated  on  Sunday  night  when 
a mob  gathered  outside  the  church  and  under  the  leadership  of  some  of  the 
members  of  the  official  board  threatened  to  use  violence  against  the  evan- 
gelists and  run  them  out  of  town.  This  crowd  did  not  attempt  to  invade 
the  church  building  but  remained  outside  carrying  on  a noisy  demonstration. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  if  the  preachers  had  attempted  to  leave  the  church 
during  the  night  of  the  excitement,  violence  would  have  been  done  them. 
But  finally  the  crowd  dispersed  and  the  next  day  affairs  took  a new  turn. 
The  pastor  and  recalcitrant  members  came  to  their  senses,  realizing  that  they 
had  been  misled  into  opposing  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  From  this  time 
on  the  meetings  resembled  in  power  the  wonderful  scenes  witnessed  in 
Pyengyang  City  itself. 

These  meetings  at  Chemulpo  would  begin  as  early  as  six  o’clock  in  the 
morning  and  continue  practically  without  intermission  until  midnight. 
Sometimes  the  evangelists  would  be  in  the  church  for  twenty-four  hours  at 
a time.  No  long  sermons  were  preached  though  there  were  frequent  exhorta- 
tions. There  was  little  singing.  The  people  were  there  to  get  rid  of  their 
sins  through  confession.  They  were  deeply  in  earnest  and  the  hours  of  the 
day  and  night  would  be  spent  in  this  one  thing.  Church  member  after 
church  member  would  await  his  opportunity,  and  thus  the  hours  would  fly 
by  with  no  cessation  of  the  torrent  of  grief,  anguish,  and  confession.  As  a rule 
those  who  passed  through  this  experience  did  not  manifest  exuberant  or 
noisy  joy  after  it.  Pardon  and  assurance  came  to  the  penitents  in  Chemulpo, 
as  at  all  other  places,  with  the  same  certainty  that  day  follows  the  night, 
but  hearts  were  filled  with  a deep  and  marvelous  peace  and  souls  were 
awed  into  silence  by  the  presence  of  God.  The  joy  of  cleansing  was  so  deep 
and  abiding  it  was  not  possible  to  express  it  in  the  forms  of  ordinary  human 
gladness.  Confession  and  repentance  were  accompanied  by  ready  restitution 
for  wrongdoing.  A table  was  placed  in  the  church  where  those  who  wished 
to  restore  articles  unlawfully  acquired  might  place  the  evidences  of  their 
guilt.  This  table  was  soon  piled  high  with  stolen  goods.  It  is  only  fair 
to  say,  however,  that  most  of  these  articles  had  been  acquired  before  the 
persons  taking  them  had  become  Christians.  In  many  cases  it  was  not 
possible  to  find  the  owners.  Many  of  these  articles  were  petty  in  their 
character  and  yet  the  consciences  of  the  people  would  not  allow  them  to 
retain  them. 

At  Seoul  the  year  opened  with  an  intense  longing  on  the  part  of  the 
missionaries  and  Korean  Christians  alike  for  a renewal  of  the  heart  life. 
Meetings  were  held  in  the  churches  and  foreigners  and  Koreans  were 
benefited,  though  the  general  impression  prevailed  that  the  meetings  were 
after  the  usual  style  and  no  special  increase  of  power  had  come.  In  the 
midst  of  these  conditions  news  of  the  storm  at  Pyengyang  came  and  stirred 
all  hearts.  First,  the  pamphlet  called  “How  God  Came  to  Pyengyang”  was 
read  in  some  of  the  homes  with  longing  hearts  and  with  tearful  eyes.  Some 


Spread  of  the  Revival 


23 


hastened  to  Pyengyang  in  order  to  share  in  the  work  of  grace  that  was  going 
on.  A general  feeling  of  expectancy  was  created  that  there  would  be  a 
visitation  from  God  in  the  capital  city.  On  invitation  from  the  churches  in 
Seoul  a Korean  elder  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Pyengyang,  who  was 
himself  a mighty  power,  came  and  spent  a few  days  in  the  metropolitan 
churches.  This  was  the  beginning  of  an  experience  of  cleansing,  which  while 
it  continued  but  a few  days  and  was,  therefore,  vastly  different  in  degree 
from  that  in  Pyengyang,  yet  brought  a new  life  into  the  hearts  of  the 
Christians.  The  same  manifestations  of  anguish  and  grief  over  sin,  great 
distress  in  confessing,  and  deep  and  wonderful  power  in  the  life  were 
manifested. 

The  pastor  of  the  leading  church  in  Seoul  was  one  of  those  who  came 
under  the  power  of  this  revival.  He  had  always  lived  a correct  life,  and  yet 
formality  and  indifference  had  reduced  his  service  for  the  Master  to  a mere 
perfunctory  performance  of  his  duties.  When  the  Presbyterian  elder  from 
Pyengyang  came  and  the  pastor  saw  the  terrific  character  of  the  revival  he 
shrank  back  and  hardened  his  heart  against  it,  determined  that  he  would 
have  no  part  in  opening  the  way  for  such  a visitation  of  God  among  his 
people.  The  visitation  came,  however,  and  swept  over  him,  but  left  him 
with  peace  of  heart  gone  and  a sense  of  rebellion  oppressing  him.  The 
missionary  in  charge  of  the  work  was  in  Pyengyang  at  this  time,  but  return- 
ing joined  with  his  people  in  the  meetings.  One  Wednesday  night  after  a 
meeting,  during  which  it  seemed  that  a pall  rested  upon  the  people  and  they 
were  farther  away  than  ever  from  a surrender  to  God,  a group  of  young 
men  remained  after  the  service  to  talk  the  matter  over  with  the  missionary. 
It  was  urged  upon  them  that  they  should  simply  surrender  themselves  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  do  what  He  might  demand  of  them  readily  and  willingly. 
After  listening  to  this  appeal  they  all  knelt  in  prayer.  There  was  a terrible 
soul  struggle,  and  yet  one  by  one  with  tears  and  outcries  they  poured  out 
their  hearts  to  God  and  surrendered  to  him.  The  Korean  pastor  was  one 
of  the  first  to  attempt  to  pray.  For  a while  it  seemed  as  though  no  prayer 
would  come,  when  suddenly,  with  the  cry  of  a man  breaking  away  from 
captors  who  were  leading  him  to  the  death,  the  pastor  shouted  with  a voice 
that  rang  through  the  church,  “O,  Holy  Spirit,  I do  now  surrender  to  thee. 
I am  willing  to  walk  in  any  pathway  that  thou  mayest  point  out  and  will 
resist  thee  no  longer.”  It  was  the  moment  of  victory  with  him,  and  from 

that  instant  he  was  a changed  man.  He  had  been  associated  with  the 

missionary  in  the  most  intimate  fellowship  for  a number  of  years.  In  the 
early  years  of  the  mission  he  had  been  employed  by  the  missionary  as 
language  teacher.  During  this  time  he  had  become  a Christian.  The  day 

following  the  wonderful  night  he  sought  the  missionary  and  said:  “Do  you 

remember  the  old  days,  years  ago,  when  I was  your  language  teacher? 
You  trusted  me  very  much,  so  much  so  that  you  put  temptation  before  me. 
You  were  a very  careless  young  man  in  those  days  and  would  leave  me  in 
charge  of  your  study  with  money  lying  about.  I never  stole  any  large 
amount,  but  once  in  a while  I used  to  take  a cash  or  two  (about  one  tenth 
of  a cent)  and  go  out  and  get  tobacco  or  a drink  of  wine.  I have  never  told 
you  before,  but  I want  to  confess  it  now  and  ask  your  forgiveness.  I have 
tried  to  reckon  up  how  much  I took,  and  counting  interest  and  everything, 
I think  that  fifty  sen  will  cover  it.  So  here  it  is.  Please  take  it.”  The 
missionary  took  the  money,  and  after  speaking  words  of  comfort  asked  the 


24 


The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

privilege  of  returning  the  money  to  the  conscience-stricken  brother.  The 
latter  drew  away  as  though  he  had  been  offered  a cup  of  deadly  poison. 
“No,  no,”  he  said,  “the  Holy  Spirit  has  told  me  to  do  this  and  I have  done  it 
in  obedience  to  Him.  There  is  no  power  on  earth  to  induce  me  to  touch 
that  money.” 

In  this  church  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  present  to  heal,  but 
very  few  of  the  church  members  were  willing  to  come  under  the  power  of 
His  touch.  Some,  however,  were  willing.  One  night  a young  man  came 
especially  burdened  with  sin,  and  seeking  to  get  rid  of  his  burden.  He  said 
that  when  he  first  heard  of  Christ  he  had  been  filled  with  unutterable  hatred 
against  him.  He  liked  to  insult  and  revile  his  name.  One  day  he  saw  a 
picture  of  Christ  hanging  on  a wall  and  he  went  up  and  spat  upon  it.  As  the 
penitent  spoke  these  words  a cry  of  anguish  was  wrung  from  his  heart  and 
he  went  to  the  floor  as  if  struck  by  a blow.  Here  he  lay  sobbing  out  his 
confession  till  the  Christ  whom  he  had  reviled  came  and  forgave  him. 

Immediately  following  the  adjournment  of  the  theological  class  in 
Pyengyang  the  workers  from  the  Haiju  Circuit  returned  to  their  homes 
filled  with  a zeal  for  souls  and  a determination  to  introduce  the  revival  into 
their  churches.  Such  an  awakening  was  sadly  needed  there  as  the  churches 
were  in  a very  poor  spiritual  condition.  The  political  disturbances  had 
greatly  agitated  the  people  throughout  that  section  and  there  is  little  doubt 
that  many  of  the  church  members  had  for  a time  lost  sight  of  the  blessed- 
ness of  the  gospel  and  were  seeking  for  political  aid  and  personal  advantage. 
Into  this  environment  the  workers  came  back  under  a great  burden  for  the 
church.  On  their  way  home  they  stopped  at  Sinchun,  the  first  point  in  the 
circuit,  one  hundred  miles  south  of  Pyengyang.  Here  they  began  to  tell 
their  story  with  splendid  results.  From  here  they  went  on  to  Haiju,  where 
meetings  were  opened  up  and  the  work  carried  on  with  great  vigor.  At 
first  it  seemed  as  though  nothing  could  be  done.  The  heavens  seemed  black 
and  the  hearts  of  the  workers  were  leaden.  God  seemed  to  have  forsaken 
them,  yet  it  was  not  so,  for  he  had  already  prepared  the  means  by  which 
Haiju  was  to  be  conquered  and  that  in  a little  village  church  near  by. 

Konmi  was  one  of  our  strongest  native  churches,  but  the  people  shared 
in  the  general  condition  of  the  circuit  and  were  cold  and  indifferent  at  this 
time.  The  preacher  in  charge  of  this  group  had  gone  through  the  fire  at 
Pyengyang  and  on  his  return  first  sought  his  mother,  confessed  his  sins  to 
her,  and  sought  her  forgiveness.  Returning  to  Konmi  he  with  seven  of  the 
church  members  went  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  which  rises  above  the 
village  and  there  in  prayer  and  confession  they  wrestled  before  God  in 
behalf  of  the  church.  The  next  night  at  the  service  in  the  church  the 
conviction  for  sin  was  something  never  before  known.  Men  and  women 
cried  in  deep  agony  of  soul,  and  among  those  who  confessed  their  sins  was 
an  exhorter,  the  chief  man  of  the  church.  On  the  following  day  he  changed 
his  mind  concerning  the  revival,  however,  and  declared  that  it  could  not  be 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  if  allowed  to  continue,  would  lead  to  the 
ruin  of  the  church.  He  could  not  conceive  of  the  Holy  Spirit  leading  men 
to  confess  hatred,  abuse,  slander,  adultery,  and  murder,  and  on  this  account 
declared  himself  opposed  to  it.  So  he  prevented  the  holding  of  a meeting 
that  evening.  It  thus  looked  dark  at  Konmi  for  a time,  but  after  much 
pleading  and  prayer  on  the  part  of  the  preacher  who  had  come  from  Pyeng- 
yang the  exhorter  finally  gave  a reluctant  consent  and  they  were  again  per- 


The  Direct  Effects  of  the  Revival 


25 


mitted  to  meet  in  the  church.  While  the  meeting  was  in  progress,  suddenly 
it  seemed  as  though  the  heavens  opened  and  the  Spirit  of  God  descended  on 
the  worshipers.  The  people  were  overwhelmed,  but  among  those  who  were 
affected  most  strongly  was  the  exhorter.  During  his  attempt  to  confess  his 
sins  he  fell  to  the  floor  as  though  struck  by  a blow.  Great  alarm  fell  on  the 
people  and  they  agonized  over  their  sins  and  pleaded  mightily  with  God  for 
forgiveness  and  salvation.  The  leader  received  pardon  and  relief  and  during 
the  following  days  was  greatly  used  of  God  in  conducting  revival  services  in 
other  villages. 

It  was  this  story  which  started  the  storm  at  Haiju.  As  the  visiting 
brothers  related  it  in  the  Haiju  meeting  conviction  went  from  heart  to  heart 
and  one  after  another  rose  to  make  confession  only  to  find  it  impossible 
to  continue  his  story,  for  they  fell  one  after  the  other  to  the  floor  in  shame 
and  confusion  pleading  with  God  for  mercy.  Peace  and  forgiveness  came 
to  every  one  of  them.  This  continued  for  a week  till  nearly  everyone  in  the 
church  had  confessed  and  was  made  clean.  Old  debts  were  paid,  hatred  and 
enmity  were  cast  out,  and  in  their  place  came  brotherly  love  and  all  were 
united  in  the  bond  of  fellowship  in  Christ  Jesus.  Thus  for  over  a month 
from  village  to  village  and  hamlet  to  hamlet  the  work  spread  until  eighteen 
of  the  most  prominent  churches  on  the  circuit  had  been  cleansed  and  two 
thirds  of  the  entire  church  membership  had  made  public  confession  and  had 
received  forgiveness  for  their  sins. 

There  remains  but  one  place  more  of  which  to  speak.  Two  young  men 
from  Pyengyang  spent  a week  in  Kongju  with  blessed  results.  This  city  is 
the  headquarters  of  the  mission  work  in  south  Korea  and  the  center  of  a 
district  of  over  a million  people  with  only  16,000  Christians  among  them.  At 
Kongju  itself  the  church,  through  the  defection  of  the  Korean  preacher  in 
charge,  had  become  filled  with  bickerings  and  strife.  They  were  in  sad  need 
of  a revival.  Under  the  ministry  of  the  two  evangelists  from  the  north  the 
scenes  witnessed  in  Pyengyang  and  Chemulpo  were  repeated  in  Kongju. 
Every  member  of  the  local  church  made  public  confession  of  his  sins  and 
made  restitution  of  things  stolen;  old-time  enemies  were  reconciled  and  all 
started  in  the  new  and  higher  life. 

This  hasty  review  of  the  territory  covered  by  the  revival  as  far  as  it 
relates  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  gives  a very  inadequate  idea  of 
the  immense  amount  of  good  that  was  accomplished.  Out  of  it  was  born  a 
new  church  and  a new  ministry  in  Korea. 

The  Direct  Effects  of  the  Revival 

Looking  back  through  the  vista  of  the  months  which  have  intervened 
since  the  revival,  certain  results  stand  out  conspicuously  as  being  the  out- 
growth of  that  experience.  One  of  these  was  the  deepening  among  the 
Christians  of  the  knowledge  of  righteousness  and  of  sin.  The  teaching  of 
Christianity  on  those  subjects  is  new  to  the  Koreans,  who,  while  not  devoid 
of  the  sense  of  sin  and  righteousness,  have  standards  different  from  those  we 
hold.  The  revival  brought  upon  the  heart  of  the  church  a deep  impression 
of  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin  and  of  the  everlasting  obligations  of  right- 
eousness. This  fact  was  well  illustrated  by  the  experience  of  a servant  of  one 
of  the  missionaries.  The  man  had  been  a Christian  for  ten  years.  He  had 
attended  church  faithfully  and  had  always  given  close  attention  to  all  that 


26  The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

was  said  in  the  services.  During  the  early  part  of  the  revival  he  took  a 
stand  in  opposition.  To  him  the  scenes  of  distress  furnished  a source  of 
amusement.  The  kitchen  where  he  labored  was  often  made  a stage  where 
he  amused  his  companions  by  imitating  the  revival  scenes.  He  would  throw 
himself  on  the  floor  and  pretend  to  beat  it  with  his  fists  and  amid  shouts  of 
laughter  go  through  the  physical  contortions  which  were  so  often  witnessed 
in  the  church.  One  morning  his  employer  asked  him  if  he  was  at  peace  with 
God.  Mumbling  a reply  he  hastily  left  the  room.  At  the  opening  of  the 
meeting  the  following  evening  he  took  a seat  among  those  sitting  at  the 
very  front  of  the  church,  and  when  an  opportunity  was  given  to  the  people 
to  take  part  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  in  terrible  distress  confessed  the  sins 
of  his  life.  Among  other  things  he  told  of  the  ways  in  which  he  had 
betrayed  the  confidence  of  his  employer.  At  last  in  utter  abandon  he  ran  to 
the  platform  and  crawling  on  his  hands  and  knees  flung  himself  at  the 
feet  of  the  missionary  who  employed  him  and  begged  forgiveness  for  all  the 
wrongs  that  he  had  committed  against  him.  From  that  moment  he  was  a 
changed  man.  The  vice  of  pilfering,  against  which  he  had  struggled  so 
long,  now  stood  out  in  all  its  hideous  aspects;  its  power  was  broken,  and  he 
passed  into  Christian  freedom  and  a life  of  joy. 

Another  noteworthy  effect  of  the  revival  was  the  cleansing  of  the  heart 
of  the  individual  church  member.  For  many  years  the  church  in  Pyengyang 
had  been  tried  and  greatly  grieved  by  one  of  its  members.  A man  by  the 
name  of  Kim  was  converted  during  the  early  days  of  missionary  work  in 
the  north.  He  had  stood  firm  during  times  of  severe  persecution  and  had 
identified  himself  with  God’s  people  when  to  do  so  was  to  endanger  his  life. 
These  facts  had  endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  many,  but  before  he  had 
become  a Christian  he  was  a victim  of  strong  drink,  and  periodically  he 
would  return  to  his  cups,  and  for  days  his  wife  and  family  would  suffer 
untold  misery.  After  a period  of  debauchery  he  would  again  turn  to  the 
church  and  in  tears  confess  his  sins,  and  begging  forgiveness  would  begin 
all  over  again.  These  lapses  continued  until  it  became  necessary  to  try  him 
and  expel  him  from  the  church.  When  the  revival  meetings  began  he  took 
no  part  in  them  though  he  would  often  sit  back  in  the  rear  of  the  church 
and  watch  all  that  occurred.  At  last  some  of  those  who  had  received  the 
blessing  went  to  him  and  urged  him  to  give  himself  to  God  for  cleansing. 
He,  in  a spirit  of  mockery,  agreed  to  do  so.  The  next  evening  he  took  his 
seat  well  to  the  front  and  when  he  had  an  opportunity,  he  arose  to  his  feet 
and  rushing  down  to  the  front  called  in  a loud  voice  for  everyone  to  look 
at  him.  "See,”  said  he,  “I  am  the  worst  scoundrel  in  this  city,  and  you  all 
know  it.  I have  been  a drunkard  for  many  years,  and  I have  been  in  the 
habit  of  beating  my  wife  and  of  making  my  home  a place  of  horror.  You 
all  know  me  and  know  what  a fiend  I have  been.”  Kim  threw  himself  to 
the  floor  and  with  cries  and  contortions  of  the  body  imitated  the  scenes  he 
had  been  watching  so  long.  Everyone  knew  that  he  was  not  sincere,  and  the 
scene  filled  the  congregation  with  the  keenest  distress.  Spontaneously  all 

knelt  and  lifted  their  voices  in  prayer  for  the  heartless,  mocking  man.  A 

thousand  voices  arose  as  the  voice  of  one  man  and  the  sound  in  billowy  waves 
swept  through  the  church  and  out  over  the  city.  "O,  God,”  they  cried,  “save 
this  our  sinful,  mocking  brother.” 

Two  nights  after  this  incident  Kim  was  again  at  church.  God  had 

already  laid  his  hands  upon  him,  and  when  the  pastor  looked  down  upon  the 


The  Direct  Effects  of  the  Revival 


27 


congregation  there  he  was  stretched  out  upon  the  floor  in  unmistakable 
anguish.  For  a time  overwhelming  sorrow  seemed  to  threaten  to  end  his 
life.  When  he  was  able  to  rise  to  his  feet  amid  paroxysms  of  grief  he 
pleaded  for  forgiveness  for  the  mockery  of  the  two  nights  previous.  From 
that  hour  his  heart  was  cleansed  and  the  man  who  before  had  been  unable 
to  pass  a dramshop  without  stopping  to  buy  a drink  began  a new  life,  and 
now,  after  months  of  testing,  he  is  one  of  the  best  examples  of  Christian 
rectitude  in  the  church.  After  his  experience  of  being  cleansed  he  became 
very  earnest  in  his  efforts  to  save  his  old  associates,  and  during  the  next 
few  weeks  brought  into  the  church  more  seekers  than  any  other  member. 

A third  effect  of  the  revival  was  the  deepening  of  the  prayer  life  of  the 
Christian.  We  have  already  indicated  the  place  that  prayer  took  in  the 
inception  of  the  revival.  During  its  progress  many  of  the  Christians  learned 
a new  secret  concerning  prayer.  Probably  this  can  be  best  illustrated  by  the 
testimony  of  one  of  the  missionaries.  He  had  always  been  a man  of  faith 
and  prayer,  and  was  in  no  wise  different  from  his  colleagues  in  the  sincerity 
and  purposeful  character  of  his  prayers.  Yet  as  he  wrestled  in  prayer  with 
God  for  others  he  came  into  possession  of  a new  power  and  confessed  that 
he  had  never  before  in  his  Christian  life  found  such  direct  sacred  communion 
with  God;  in  fact,  that  he  seemed  to  be  learning  for  the  first  time  the  real 
way  of  prayer.  This  was  true  in  the  lives  of  many  of  those  who  came  under 
the  power  of  the  revival.  Prayer  became  a real  business  with  them — the 
main  business  of  their  life.  They  went  about  it  with  the  same  definite 
purpose  that  they  brought  to  all  their  tasks.  They  prayed  for  those  in  need 
no  matter  where  they  were  or  what  might  be  their  condition.  The  prayer 
meetings  of  the  missionaries  in  Pyengyang  were  typical  of  this  feature  of 
concerted  intercessory  prayer.  Every  afternoon  at  four  o’clock  the  mission- 
aries would  gather  at  the  high  school.  There  was  no  leader,  no  singing,  not 
even  reading  of  a selection  from  the  Scripture,  but  before  going  to  their 
knees  an  opportunity  would  be  given  to  anyone  present  to  mention  any 
special  need  that  might  be  his.  Then  all  would  kneel  and  each  in  turn  as 
the  spirit  moved  would  voice  his  petition  to  God.  There  was  no  time  limit; 
and  the  minutes  would  speed  by  and  it  would  often  be  an  hour  or  even  two 
hours  before  they  would  rise  from  their  knees.  The  Koreans,  too,  found  this 
secret  and  gave  themselves  up  to  intercession,  a company  of  them  often 
spending  a whole  night  in  prayer  for  their  friends.  The  answers  received 
were  swift  and  remarkable,  and  some  of  the  most  notable  results  of  the 
revival  came  as  the  direct  answer  to  intercessory  prayer. 

One  of  the  brightest  and  strongest  of  the  young  men  after  passing 
through  the  experience  of  cleansing  was  seen  to  be  in  terrible  mental  agony. 
The  missionary  inquired  into  it,  asking  him  if  he  had  yet  found  peace  in  his 
own  heart.  “O,  yes,”  said  he,  "yes,  yes,  I am  all  right,  but  look  at  this,”  and 
he  thrust  into  the  hand  of  the  missionary  a small  piece  of  paper.  Opening 
it,  the  missionary  saw  written  upon  it  the  single  word  nu-ee  (sister).  Chok- 
ing down  his  sobs,  the  young  man  managed  to  say:  “Pray  for  my  sister.” 
The  missionary  promised  and  united  his  prayers  with  that  of  the  brother. 
Some  time  after  the  missionary  asked  him  about  his  sister.  In  answer  the 
young  man  with  radiant  face  told  how  he  had  gone  home,  eighty  li  away,  and 
“Now,”  said  he,  “my  sister  is  saved,  my  sister  is  saved.” 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  developments  of  the  revival  was  that  of 
audible  prayer.  One  Sunday  morning  the  missionary  in  charge  of  the 


28  The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

meeting  asked  the  congregation  to  engage  in  united  prayer.  Spontaneously, 
as  though  under  the  direct  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a murmur  of  audible 
prayer  arose  from  a thousand  lips,  gradually  growing  in  volume  until  it 
filled  the  church.  The  remarkable  thing  about  it  was  that  it  produced  no 
confusion  and  their  voices  united  like  the  notes  from  some  great  instrument 
of  music.  The  scene  of  a great  congregation  of  a thousand  or  fifteen  hundred 
people  all  on  their  faces  before  God  and  all  uniting  in  audible  prayer  to 
God  was  thrilling  beyond  description.  Thus  the  Korean  church  discovered 
new  wonders  in  prayer  and  have  now  a confidence  in  the  power  of  this 
blessed  privilege  of  the  children  of  God  which  is  of  inestimable  value  to  them. 

As  one  becomes  familiar  with  the  spirit  and  ideas  that  underlie  the  old 
life  of  the  Korean  people  he  is  impressed  with  its  callousness.  The  ancient 
question,  “Am  I my  brother’s  keeper?”  would  be  answered  by  the  typical 
Korean  with  an  emphatic  negative.  Probably  the  native  clan  system  is 

responsible  for  this.  Men  recognize  that  they  are  united  by  the  ties  of 

kindred,  but  the  broader  ties  of  humanity  are  little  known.  One  of  the 
most  helpful  results  was  a deepening  among  the  Christians  of  the  sense  of 
responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  others.  They  got  a glimpse  of  the  great 
Christian  teaching  of  the  privilege  and  duty  of  caring  for  one’s  fellow-men. 
The  story  of  the  preacher  at  Haiju  brings  this  out.  This  preacher  was  a 
good  man  and  in  his  way  an  effective  worker  but  he  suffered  from  this  lack 
of  a sense  of  responsibility.  He  had  no  passion  for  souls.  He  had  been  in 

the  employ  of  the  mission  as  a helper  for  several  years,  but  had  always 

shrunk  back  when  asked  to  go  to  a place  of  difficulty.  During  the  session 
of  the  theological  class  he  was  among  the  first  to  surrender  to  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  he  came  out  of  this  experience  of  confession  and  sorrow  with  a 
deep  and  lasting  sense  of  peace  and  a holy  passion  for  souls.  After  the 
revival  he  was  appointed  to  Haiju,  where  the  work  was  suffering  through 
the  failure  of  the  native  pastor.  He  took  up  the  work  under  special  difficulty, 
but  in  a short  time  he  had  transformed  the  church.  He  carried  the  warmth 
and  earnestness  of  his  new-found  experience  out  into  other  sections  with 
the  result  that  the  whole  region,  as  we  have  already  related,  was  stirred  as 
deeply  and  regenerated  as  thoroughly  as  any  region  touched  by  the  storm. 
This  thought  of  the  intensifying  of  the  sense  of  responsibility  might  be 
illustrated  by  repeated  examples  from  the  lives  of  our  preachers  and  workers. 
A new  era  has  thus  been  inaugurated  and  the  future  of  the  Korean  church 
is  already  radiant  with  promise  because  of  it. 

The  revival  gave  the  missionaries  an  understanding  of  Korean  life  such 
as  they  had  not  before  possessed.  They  can  now  appreciate  the  Korean 
Christian  more  fully.  Sympathy  is  more  intelligent  and  help  can  be  given 
more  wisely  than  in  the  past.  Far  from  being  discouraged,  the  missionary 
in  Korea  has  come  to  see  in  the  native  moral  possibilities  of  the  highest  order. 
It  is  true  that  the  revival  lifted  the  curtain  from  Korean  life  and  character 
and  revealed  the  Korean  in  a new  light.  We  have  already  indicated  the 
astonishment  and  consternation  with  which  the  missionaries  listened  to  the 
confessions  made  by  the  Koreans.  It  would  seem  that  such  terrible  tragedies 
in  ordinary  life  could  not  occur  without  their  becoming  matters  of  public 
knowledge  and  thus  being  prevented.  As  a fact,  the  terrible  moral  condition 
revealed  was  a matter  of  common  knowledge  among  the  Koreans,  but  it  was, 
to  them,  a normal  condition  and  excited  little  comment.  Foreigners  are 
necessarily  so  separated  from  the  Koreans  by  the  barriers  of  language  and 


The  Outlook 


29 


custom  that  as  a rule  they  get  very  little  beyond  the  perimeter  of  Korean 
social  life.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  statements  made  came 
as  a revelation.  A superficial  observer  listening  to  the  confessions  might  be 
inclined  to  think  that  the  Korean  character  is  thoroughly  degenerate,  and 
that  there  is  no  moral  base  upon  which  to  erect  a really  worthy  ethical  life. 
Most  of  the  writers  in  recent  times  who  have  described  Korea  have  dwelt 
altogether  on  this  phase  of  the  native  character,  and  have  thus  unconsciously 
placed  the  Korean  in  a wrong  light.  His  confessions  when  rightly  interpreted 
reveal  the  fact  that  there  are  many  other  things  besides  sin  in  Korean  life. 
Korean  passions  run  very  deep.  He  possesses  a courage  and  loyalty,  a 
generosity,  and  magnanimity  which  need  only  favorable  conditions  for 
development.  When  we  view  against  the  dark  background  of  the  old  life 
the  brighter  colors  of  his  virtues  the  Korean  stands  out  as  much  a hero  as 
any  man  on  earth. 

The  confessions  made  during  the  revival  were  more  than  a revelation 
of  the  darkness  of  Korean  life.  They  were  also  a testimony  to  the  moral 
courage  of  the  Korean.  It  took  moral  courage  of  the  highest  type  publicly 
to  avow  the  gross  and  terrible  mistakes  of  the  past  and  to  seek  forgiveness 
of  Almighty  God  and  of  fellow-men  whom  they  had  wronged. 


The  Outlook 

It  was  given  to  America  to  be  the  first  Western  nation  to  enter  into 
treaty  relations  with  Korea,  and  since  the  year  1881  the  peninsula  has  been 
coming  more  and  more  under  the  influence  of  the  forces  from  abroad. 
International  complications  culminated  in  a protectorate  treaty  negotiated 
by  the  Japanese  and  Korean  governments  in  November,  1905.  The  Koreans, 
under  a mistaken  idea,  attempted  to  appeal  from  this  agreement  to  the 
Hague  Conference  in  1907.  Their  delegation  was  refused  recognition  at 
the  Conference;  this  led  to  the  abdication  of  the  emperor  and  the  con- 
clusion of  a new  agreement  with  Japan,  placing  larger  powers  of  administra- 
tion both  in  foreign  and  domestic  affairs  in  the  hands  of  Prince  Ito,  the 
Resident-General. 

In  connection  with  the  abdication  of  the  emperor  serious  disturbances 
broke  out  in  Korea  which  at  one  time  threatened  to  assume  large  proportions. 
During  this  time  the  conduct  of  the  church  was  most  commendable.  At 
Seoul  and  throughout  the  sections  where  the  disturbances  occurred  the 
Christians  exerted  their  influence  on  the  side  of  law  and  order  and  con- 
tributed very  largely  to  keeping  the  spirit  of  disorder  under  control.  In 
the  north  no  uprising  against  the  government  occurred,  and  this  was  all 
the  more  remarkable,  as  the  people  in  Pyengyang  and  the  provinces  are  the 
most  excitable  and  turbulent  in  the  empire.  Any  just  review  of  the  causes 
which  contributed  to  tranquillity  must  give  a large  share  of  credit  to  the 
restraining  influence  of  the  churches.  Throughout  this  entire  region,  both 
in  the  north  and  at  Seoul,  misguided  patriots  threatened  the  lives  of  mission- 
aries and  preachers  because  their  influence  was  against  disorder,  but  as  the 
result  of  the  counsels  and  restraining  influence  of  the  Christian  workers 
bloodshed  was  prevented  and  order  maintained.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  the 
regions  where  this  occurred  the  revival  had  first  prepared  the  churches  so 
that  they  were  more  ready  to  stand  for  law  and  order. 

Already  a new  Korea  is  in  process  of  development.  Prince  Ito,  the  fore- 


30  The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

most  statesman  of  Asia,  negotiated  the  protectorate  treaty  and  was  appointed 
by  his  majesty  the  emperor  of  Japan  as  Resident-General  in  Korea.  Under 
his  wise  and  sagacious  leadership,  many  reforms  have  been  introduced. 
Already  the  country  is  waking  up  and  a new  era  is  dawning.  The  fullest 
possible  religious  liberty  is  enjoyed  and  the  opportunity  which  opens  before 
the  church  is  of  a marvelous  character.  The  people  at  large  are  turning  to 
the  church  in  multitudes.  They  are  convinced  that  Christianity  offers  the 
only  salvation  for  them,  and  that  through  its  ethical  and  spiritual  power 
alone  they  will  be  able  to  develop  a manhood  equal  to  the  new  opportunities 
which  open  before  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  church  itself  is  alive  as 
never  before,  and  the  native  Christian  leaders  are  planning  for  nothing  less 
than  the  evangelization  of  the  nation.  The  new  Korea  will  be  a Christian 
Korea  and  that  within  a comparatively  short  period  of  time.  Churches  are 
multiplying  in  all  directions.  It  is  not  possible  for  a foreign  missionary  to 
keep  in  personal  touch  with  the  multiplied  groups  which  spring  up  every- 
where. Evangelistically,  the  opportunity  of  the  Asiatic  continent  of  the 
present  day  is  to  be  found  in  Korea.  No  other  field  compares  with  this  in 
the  urgency  and  the  promise  of  its  conditions.  This  is  the  strategic  people 
and  the  present  is  the  strategic  time  in  this  land.  Ten  millions  of  souls 
await  help  and  instruction  which  the  Christian  Church  can  give. 

Young  Korea  is  determined  to  be  educated.  The  cry  for  schools  is  heard 
everywhere.  Students  in  multiplied  thousands  await  instruction.  In  the 
past  modern  instruction  has  been  practically  in  the  hands  of  the  church  of 
Korea.  In  the  introduction  of  methods,  the  preparation  of  text-books,  and  the 
training  of  teachers  the  leadership  has  been  in  the  hands  of  Christians.  The 
government  under  Prince  Ito  is  turning  its  attention  seriously  to  education, 
and  if  the  church  will  arise  to  its  opportunity,  she  can  perform  for  the  new 
government  of  Korea  a service  of  signal  value  through  her  cooperation  in 
this  work  of  educating  the  Koreans.  Every  school  that  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  maintains  is  overcrowded.  Mr.  P.  T.  Collins,  of  Nebraska,  Penn- 
sylvania, is  doing  a monumental  work  in  introducing  schools  among  the 
Koreans,  and  in  Chemulpo,  Seoul,  Pyengyang,  and  Suwon  he  has  erected 
institutions  whose  influence  will  abide  in  Korea  throughout  the  coming 
centuries.  The  First  Church  of  Wichita,  Kansas,  has  a noble  monument  in 
the  school  at  Pyengyang.  An  elect  lady  in  Illinois  has  come  to  the  aid  of 
the  Biblical  Institute  at  Seoul.  At  this  point  a splendid  opportunity  awaits 
the  church,  and  not  less  than  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  should  be 
invested  in  the  work  of  education  in  Korea.  If  a group  of  one  hundred  of 
God’s  stewards  would  agree  to  give  a sum  of  three  thousand  dollars  each, 
this  sum  could  be  easily  raised. 

With  the  general  breakup  of  old  prejudices  and  passing  away  of  old 
customs  come  also  remarkable  developments  in  the  social  conditions  sur- 
rounding womanhood.  For  centuries  the  women  of  Korea  have  practically 
been  prisoners  in  the  inner  rooms  of  their  homes.  But  this  condition  is 
rapidly  changing.  The  old  custom  of  seclusion  is  fast  breaking  down  and 
a new  life  socially  opens  before  the  womanhood  of  Korea.  In  preparation 
for  this  new  life  the  demand  for  education  for  girls  is  a very  great  and 
insistent  one.  Christianity  is  making  large  progress  among  the  women  of 
the  land;  it  is  the  force  which  has  brought  the  new  liberty  to  them.  Women 
are  freely  permitted  to  be  present  at  our  church  services  and  to  take  part  in 
them.  Formerly  they  were  never  permitted  to  appear  in  public,  but  the 


The  Outlook 


31 


church  has  been  made  an  exception,  and  here  they  come  in  large  numbers. 
It  is  a remarkable  fact  that  the  church  should  be  the  first  place  to  which 
the  womanhood  of  Korea  should  go  when  permitted  to  leave  the  seclusion  of 
her  own  home. 

Few  people  realize  the  important  position  that  Korea  is  destined  to 
occupy  in  the  development  of  the  Asiatic  world.  History  has  shown  that  a 
people  may  lose  their  national  independence  without  losing  their  influence  on 
the  life  of  the  world.  The  position  occupied  by  Korea  as  first  neighbor  to 
China  will  make  her  influence  upon  that  country  of  the  greatest  moment. 
With  railroads  running  from  the  Yalu  to  all  the  large  ports  in  the  Japan 
Sea,  Manchuria  will  find  her  highway  eastward  through  the  Korean  peninsula. 
The  capital  of  Korea  is  nearer  to  Peking  than  is  Chicago  to  New  York.  An 
American  express  could  cover  the  distance  between  the  two  capitals  in  four- 
teen hours.  That  means  that  any  overwhelming  influence  which  may  obtain 
in  Korea  will  mightily  affect  China. 

As  has  been  shown  in  what  we  have  said  above,  the  Korean  people  are 
perhaps  the  most  religious  people  of  the  Far  East,  and  all  visitors  who  have 
come  under  the  influence  of  their  great  Christian  congregations  have  been 
deeply  impressed  by  them.  Already  the  line  of  railroad  reaching  into  Man- 
churia is  lined  the  whole  distance  from  Fusan  with  Christian  communities, 
and  churches  have  been  planted  beyond  the  Yalu  in  Chinese  territory.  And, 
again,  the  great  revival  in  Korea  has  produced  a deep  impression  upon  the 
Japanese  church.  A number  of  Japanese  were  converted  in  the  meetings 
held  in  Pyengyang  although  they  were  ignorant  of  the  Korean  language  and 
the  contact  was  one  altogether  in  spirit.  The  Japanese  Christians  who 
were  privileged  to  witness  the  effects  of  the  revival  on  the  Koreans  were 
profoundly  moved  and  carried  back  the  news  to  Japan,  where  in  several 
instances  it  resulted  in  greatly  quickening  the  Japanese  church.  An  instance 
will  illustrate  this.  One  night  there  came  into  the  meeting  in  Pyengyang 
a Japanese  army  officer  who  appeared  to  be  deeply  interested  in  what  was 
taking  place.  When  the  Christians  knelt  in  prayer  he  knelt  with  them,  but 
when  they  arose  he  continued  prostrate  before  God.  No  one  present  could 
speak  the  Japanese  language,  so  it  was  not  possible  to  communicate  with 
him.  Shortly  afterward  he  arose  and  left  the  meeting.  The  next  day  he 
came  with  the  pastor  of  the  Japanese  church  in  Pyengyang  to  see  the 
missionary.  He  told  of  how  in  the  past  he  had  had  very  little  idea  of  God, 
but  in  the  meeting  had  been  so  impressed  with  what  had  taken  place  that 
he  could  doubt  no  longer  and  there  had  given  his  heart  to  Christ.  As  he 
was  soon  to  return  to  Japan  he  requested  baptism,  and  the  following  night 
a little  group  of  Japanese  took  their  place  in  the  midst  of  the  vast  audience 
of  Koreans.  At  the  close  of  the  service  this  soldier-Christian  was  baptized 
into  the  Christian  faith  amid  the  common  rejoicing  of  Japanese  and  Koreans. 
The  officer  returned  to  his  home  with  his  heart  filled  with  the  divine  passion 
for  souls.  He  preached  the  gospel  of  Christ  in  his  native  town  with  such 
earnestness  and  flaming  zeal  that  the  entire  community  was  deeply  stirred 
and  many  persons  were  brought  to  Christ. 

This  is  but  typical  of  the  possible  influence  that  Korea  may  exert  upon 
her  neighbors.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Divine  Providence  has  destined 
the  three  empires  of  the  Far  East — Japan,  China,  and  Korea — to  become 
united  in  a relation  of  the  most  intimate  character.  The  reaction  of  each 
of  these  nations  on  the  other  two  will  necessarily  be  intense.  If,  as  we  firmly 


32 


The  Religious  Awakening  of  Korea 

believe,  it  should  be  Korea’s  destiny  to  have  a large  part  in  molding  the 
religious  sentiment  of  this  great  far  eastern  trinity  of  empires,  who  can 
adequately  measure  the  importance  of  the  service  that  she  will  perform  and 
the  imperative  necessity  that  the  Christian  Church  should  hasten  to  Korea 
with  the  help  that  the  infant  church  in  the  peninsula  needs? 

The  growth  of  the  church  in  Korea  furnishes  a bright  promise  of  the 
speedy  evangelization  of  this  people.  The  first  converts  under  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  were  reported  in  1888  and  numbered  thirty-eight.  In 
1907  the  total  following  of  the  church  was  39,613 — an  increase  over  the 
beginning  of  over  a thousandfold.  An  examination  of  the  statistics  of  the 
mission  will  show  that  the  ratio  of  increase  has  practically  been  maintained 
from  the  beginning,  and  all  signs  indicate  that  this  increase  may  continue 
for  an  indefinite  time.  It  is  easy  to  work  out  marvelous  results  with  figures 
in  connection  with  any  enterprise,  but  when  one  contemplates  the  numerical 
growth  of  the  church  in  the  Korean  field  the  result  must  be  a great 
strengthening  of  the  faith  of  the  church  in  the  complete  success  of  its  mission 
to  the  world.  In  Korea  we  have  a field  in  which  there  is  promise  of  the  rapid 
evangelization  of  the  entire  nation,  and  whose  very  condition  constitutes  an 
imperative  call  to  the  church  to  concentrate  her  effort  on  the  great  work 
of  giving  a people  so  ready  for  it  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  results  reported 
in  Korea  have  been  achieved  in  the  midst  of  a poverty  of  men  and  resources 
which  might  well  have  daunted  the  best  workers.  The  Korean  Misssion  has 
had  fourteen  men,  thirteen  wives,  and  thirteen  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  workers,  or  a total  of  forty.  We  are  confident  that  if  the  church  had 
given  Korea  five  times  the  number  of  missionaries  the  field  now  possesses, 
the  results  in  converts  would  have  been  many  times  what  they  are.  There 
has  been  in  Korea  only  one  native  worker  for  each  660  of  the  church  mem- 
bership, and  only  one  missionary  (man)  for  each  1,630  church  members. 
Taking  the  past  three  years  into  consideration  the  average  rate  of  increase 
in  Korea  has  been  over  33  per  cent.  If  this  rate  of  increase  is  maintained 
for  a period  of  ten  years,  there  will  be  in  the  care  of  our  mission  in  Korea 
a total  church  membership  of  over  400,000. 

As  far  as  human  foresight  can  penetrate  the  future  there  is  no  reason 
why  this  rate  of  increase  should  not  be  maintained  and  even  exceeded.  The 
vital  question  is:  Will  the  church  in  America  meet  the  responsibility  which 
this  condition  of  affairs  imposes  upon  her?  The  crux  of  the  missionary 
question,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  Korea,  is  not  here  on  the  field  but  is  at  home 
on  the  threshold  of  the  church  in  America.  No  obstacle  appears  ahead  of  us 
to  prevent  the  saving  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Koreans.  It  is  only  a 
question  of  whether  the  church  at  home  will  make  good  the  opportunity 
which  has  been  given  her  of  God — to  bestow  upon  one  nation,  during  this 
generation,  the  priceless  boon  of  becoming  Christian  in  its  national  and 
individual  life. 


